Australian man could face the death penalty in Bali after allegedly smuggling more than 1.5kg of cocaine into the country
An Australian man has been arrested in Bali accused of smuggling more than 1.5kg of cocaine into Indonesia.
Officers from the Balinese drug squad arrested the man at an apartment in Canggu, southern Bali, on Thursday.
According to sources who spoke to Daily Mail Australia, the drugs were allegedly discovered after customs officers x-rayed a suspicious package sent from Thailand.
Police and customs officers delivered the package to his home and monitored the premises in the days leading up to the arrest.
It’s understood the man, who has not yet been identified, was taken into custody after he officially accepted the delivery.
Police seized 1.5kg of cocaine, which under Indonesian law is enough to warrant the death penalty.
An Australian man has been arrested in Bali after he allegedly tried to smuggle 1.5kg of cocaine into the country via mail from Thailand (stock image of Balinese police officers)
It’s understood the man allegedly suffered several injuries while resisting arrest.
A person found guilty of large-scale drug trafficking and possession in Indonesia can face severe penalties including life imprisonment and in some cases execution.
It comes five months after the remaining members of the Bali Nine returned to Australia following their conviction for smuggling heroine in 2005.
Matthew Norman, Martin Stephens, Si Yi Chen, Scott Rush and Michael Czugaj flew back to Australia on a Jetstar commercial flight in December last year following weeks of negotiations between the Australian and Indonesian governments.
The men aren’t required to serve prison sentences in Australia and will be able to live freely in the community.
The Aussies were arrested alongside Andrew Chan, Myuran Sukumaran, Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen and Renae Lawrence in Bali in April 2005.
The group attempted to smuggle 8.3kg of heroin strapped to their bodies from the holiday island.
Ringleaders Chan and Sukumaran were executed by firing squad in April 2015 – ten years after the botched drug smuggling operation.
It comes after the remaining members of the Bali Nine returned to Australia (pictured, left to right, Martin Stephens, Michael Czugaj, Scott Rush, Matthew Norman, and Si Yi Chen)
Stephen’s former cellmate Nguyen died at a hospital in Jakarta in 2018 following a battle with cancer.
Meanwhile, Lawrence, who was the only member not to get a death sentence or life behind bars, was released in 2018 after her sentence was reduced to 20 years on appeal.
