Indonesia arrests Australian man for smuggling cocaine to Bali
Police seized 1.7kg (3.7 lbs) of cocaine from his rented house near the popular Kuta beach
Indonesian authorities arrested an Australian for smuggling cocaine on the tourist island of Bali, a charge that could carry the death penalty, officials said on Monday.
The Southeast Asian country has extremely strict drug laws, and convicted smugglers are sometimes executed by firing squad.
Lamar Aaron Ahchee, 43, from Cairns in north Queensland, was arrested on Thursday, after police raided his rented house near Kuta beach, a popular tourist spot, and seized 1.7kg (3.7 lbs) of cocaine in 206 clip plastic bags, along with a digital scale and mobile phone, Bali police chief Daniel Adityajaya said.
The arrest followed an investigation conducted by Bali police anti-drug surveillance teams who reported the man had received two suspicious packages sent by mail from Britain, Adityajaya said.
“He is suspected of importing or distributing class 1 narcotics,” Adityaja told a news conference in the provincial capital, Denpasar. “He is threatened with the death penalty or life imprisonment.”
Adityajaya said a preliminary investigation showed that the Australian had ordered a motorcycle taxi driver through the Grab online service on Wednesday, to pick up two packages at a post office in Denpasar.