Police in Bali have announced the arrest of a 39-year-old man from Belarus. The man, known by his initials IZ, was arrested on Saturday, 18th February, for possession of narcotics. IZ is believed to have been residing in Bali for the majority of the last three years, working online as a computer programmer.
Police arrested IZ after a tip-off from the public that he had bought drugs online. During a press conference at the South Denpasar Police headquarters on Thursday, 23rd February, police confirmed the details of IZ’s arrest. South Denpasar Police Chief Kompol I Made Teja Permana said, “the arrest of the suspect [was made] after we got information from the public about a Caucasian man who was involved in drugs.
Kompol Permana continued, “before being arrested, the suspect had time to walk on Sanur Beach. When he came home, our members immediately intercepted him and searched his belongings and body. Seventeen packages of dried marijuana were found.”
During initial questioning, IZ is said to have told police that he was offered marijuana in a Telegram messenger group. He said that he was expelled from the group after the transaction. Kompol Permana said that IZ confessed that he only bought marijuana just once in Bali. He revealed that IZ paid for the illicit goods using cryptocurrency to the tune of IR 6 million (USD 395).
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Police have revealed that they are pressing for further answers from IZ as they not only found the seventeen packages of dried marijuana at his property but other paraphernalia and evidence of previous smokes suggest regular use and potential intent to supply.
Kompol Permana said, “The suspect’s confession has only bought marijuana for his own use. We keep doing development. In addition to securing marijuana and marijuana smoking devices, one green bag and two iPhone cellphones are also secured. The suspect was charged with Article 111 Paragraph (1) of Law Number 35 of 2009 concerning Narcotics, with an imprisonment of 4 years and a maximum of 12 years.”
This week police in Bali have also confirmed the arrest of an Australian citizen who was found attempting to bring marijuana into Bali. Australian tourists with the initials TRB was arrested at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport on Wednesday, 15th February. Police pulled TRB aside as he was walking through customs as an X-Ray of his luggage revealed a suspicious item in his possession.
The Head of Public Relations of Bali Regional Police Kombes Pol Stefanus Satake Bayu Setianto has confirmed the arrest. He told reporters, “The police are still investigating the source of these drugs, and the motive for the perpetrator brought drugs to Bali.”
Reports reveal that customs officers and regional drug police officers found 25.18g of marijuana in TRB’s luggage. Customs officers have handed him over to the Bali Regional Police Narcotics Directorate for further investigation.
The news of more drug arrests comes in the same week that Interpol fugitive Antonio Stangio was deported back to Italy. Starngio was apprehended by customs officials at Bali airport earlier this month. He was marked with an Interpol red notice in November 2016 on drug-related charges issued by the Italian police in 2014. Following his arrest in Bali, Strangio was accompanied on the deportation flight by officers from the Bali Police team and the International Relations Division.
The Head of the Immigration Division of the Bali Provincial Office of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, Barron Ihsan, confirmed the deportation of Strangio to reporters during a press conference on Sunday evening. However, the details of the deportation route were not made public so as not to alarm passengers who were onboard the commercial flight.
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JK
Monday 27th of February 2023
Ganja is not a narcotic. Arak is legal but ganja is not. Illogical.
Wayan Bo
Sunday 26th of February 2023
Just finally legalize it.
Raymond
Tuesday 28th of February 2023
@Wayan Bo, Weed should be legal. But not the production and commercialization of the crazy powerful shit they have in Oregon where I come from.
Ben
Monday 27th of February 2023
@Wayan Bo, seems to make sense really, if you look at what they are doing in Thailand. It brings revenue and reduces the number of prisoners.
Wayan Bo
Monday 27th of February 2023
@Raymond, evil or not (how evil even alcohol can be) full aged persons should not be patronized. Nobody else is hurt if they consummate whatever they want. - We need free society, without any kind of tutelage. Don’t You think so!?
Bulebaik
Sunday 26th of February 2023
@Raymond, hahaha, that was a good one. Police is just law enforcement, they know nothing. Same for most law makers.
Raymond
Sunday 26th of February 2023
@Wayan Bo, I'm starting to think you might a marijuana smoker. It's a very evil drug and the police know what's best for us.