BALI: Indonesian customs officials said they have captured
two foreigners accused of attempting to smuggle drugs onto the tourist island
of Bali.
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| A German man is escorted by customs officers in Bali |
Customs chief Himawan Indarjono said British resident Adam
Scott and German Siegfried Karl Achim Ruckel were arrested before the end of
last month at Bali's Ngurah Rai airport.
He said officers seized a jug with 655 Diazepam tablets,
otherwise called Valium, from Mr Scott, a computer analyst who arrived from
Bangkok on Jan 24. 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 with damaging the Customs and
Psychotropic laws, under which he could face up to 10 years in jail and a fine
of $22,000 if discovered guilty.
Another customs official, Husni Syaiful, said Mr Ruckel
arrived two days later from Doha and had 7g of heroin, 0.2g of amphetamine and
15.3g of morphine.
In the event that discovered guilty, Mr Ruckel 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 some of the time 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 individuals are currently on death row, for
the most part for drug crimes. Around one-third of them are foreigners.
