BALI, Indonesia — Indonesian officials said Tuesday they have arrested three foreigners who were attempting to smuggle illegal drugs to the tourist island of Bali.
Bali’s customs office presented the three men from Australia, Malaysia and the United States at a news conference at the customs office near the airport.
Just a day earlier Indonesian police recaptured an American man who escaped from Bali’s overcrowded Kerobokan prison, where he is now once again serving his sentence for drug charges. Christian Beasley was on the lam for a week after sawing through a ceiling and scaling a 20-foot wall to flee the prison. He was recaptured on the neighboring island of Lombok.
Motorcyclists ride past Kerobokan prison in Denpasar on Indonesia’s resort island of Bali, June 19, 2017.
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The only suspect identified by name on Tuesday was Australian Isaac Emmanuel Roberts. The Malaysian and American were introduced only as CHJ and KSL.
Customs chief Himawan Indarjono said Roberts, 35, was arrested at Bali’s airport on Dec. 4 carrying 19.9 grams (0.7 ounces) of methamphetamine and 6.2 grams (0.2 ounces) of the party drug ecstasy.
He said the 30-year-old Malaysian was arrested at the airport on Nov. 8 with 3 grams (0.1 ounces) of marijuana and 0.65 grams (0.02 ounces) of cocaine.
Indarjono said the American was detained Nov. 30 when he was picking up a package containing 336.6 grams (12 ounces) of marijuana at a post office.
“We hope these arrests were able to protect our society from the bad impact of drugs,” Indarjono said. He added that all three suspects have been handed over to police.
Indonesia has very strict drug laws and convicted traffickers can be executed by a firing squad. More than 150 people are on death row, mostly for drug crimes, and about a third of them are foreigners.
Eighteen people convicted of drug-related offenses have been executed under the current President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.
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