Briton & German arrested smuggling drugs from Thailand into Bali
A British man and a German man have been arrested accused of attempting to smuggle drugs onto the tourist island of Bali, Indonesian customs officials said.
Adam Scott was arrested at Bali’s Ngurah Rai airport late last month, customs chief Himawan Indarjono said.
He said officers seized a bottle with 655 Diazepam tablets, also known as Valium, from Mr Scott, a computer analyst who arrived from Bangkok.
The amount, which was not reported on his customs declaration, was judged to be more than he needed for personal use.
He said Mr Scott is suspected of violating the Customs and Psychotropic laws, under which he could face up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $22,000 if found guilty.
Two days later, German Siegfried Karl Achim Ruckel, 56, was arrested.
Both Mr Scott and Mr Ruckel were put on display during a press conference on Wednesday wearing black balaclavas and orange jumpsuits.
Another customs official, Husni Syaiful, said Mr Ruckel arrived on January 26 from Doha and possessed 7 grams (0.25 ounces) of heroin, 0.2 grams (0.01 ounces) of amphetamine and 15.3 grams (0.54 ounces) of morphine.
If found guilty, he could face up to a death sentence and a fine of up to $730,000.
Indonesia has extremely strict drug laws and convicted smugglers are sometimes executed.
Eighteen convicts, mostly foreigners, have been executed under President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo, who took office in October 2014 and declared a war on illegal drugs.
More than 150 people are currently on death row, mostly for drug crimes. About a third of them are foreigners.
