The family of an Australian man facing the death penalty in Bali for alleged cocaine smuggling has hired a high-profile fixer known as the 'prison whisperer'. Lamar Ahchee, 43, originally from Cairns, was arrested last week on suspicion of receiving two drug deliveries from the UK while living on the Indonesian island.
Police allege the cocaine was concealed inside two gold Lindt chocolate boxes, each containing 54 individual packets with 8.3 grams of the drug wrapped inside. The total haul of 1.8kg of cocaine has an estimated street value of $1.1 million and is enough to warrant the death penalty under Indonesian law.
Ahchee's mother and sister arrived in Bali on Monday and were accompanied to police headquarters by John McLeod, a former police officer who runs consultancy firm Tora Solutions. McLeod previously helped free Schapelle Corby from Bali's Kerobokan jail and assisted in the release of Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert from Iran in 2021.
Outside police headquarters, McLeod described the situation as 'very confronting and distressing' for Ahchee's family but declined further comment. Ahchee, who was escorted in handcuffs wearing an orange jumpsuit and black ski mask, met with Australian consulate officials.
Police allege the packages arrived in Indonesia on May 12, with one sent from the Essex village of Runwell and the other from Braintree, both addressed to different recipients in the Kuta Utara area. Ahchee allegedly asked a driver to collect the packages from the post office and was arrested after taking them to Canggu. He reportedly suffered injuries while resisting arrest.
Ahchee, the son of a retired Queensland senior constable, had lived in Bali for at least six years after moving from Cairns to Sydney's affluent eastern suburbs, where he worked as a VIP manager at nightclubs. In Bali, he worked as director and co-founder of technology groups and later in hospitality at venues including Brick Lane Bali and Omnia Beach Club.
