A 43-year-old Australian man from Sydney is facing the death penalty or life imprisonment in Bali after being accused of smuggling cocaine into the Indonesian tourist island. The man was arrested on Thursday following a police raid on his rented house near Kuta Beach, where authorities seized 1.7kg of cocaine, a digital scale, and a mobile phone.
Bali’s police chief, Daniel Adityajaya, stated that the arrest followed an investigation by anti-drug surveillance teams who reported that the man had received two suspicious packages sent by mail from the UK. “He is suspected of importing or distributing class 1 narcotics,” Adityajaya told a news conference on Monday. “He is threatened with the death penalty or life imprisonment.”
The accused was paraded at the news conference wearing handcuffs, an orange jumpsuit, and a black balaclava covering his face. He did not make a statement. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed it is providing consular assistance to the detained Australian, but declined further comment due to privacy obligations.
Indonesian authorities allege that on 21 May, the man ordered a motorcycle taxi driver through the Grab online service to pick up two packages at a post office in Denpasar. The driver was instructed to hand the packages to another motorcycle taxi driver from a different service, who then delivered them to the Australian’s rented house.
The case echoes the notorious Bali Nine, whose ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were executed by firing squad in 2015, sparking a diplomatic incident with Australia. In December, Indonesia returned the five remaining members of that ring, who had been serving life sentences, to Australia. They remain banned from entering Indonesia for life.
