At a press conference on Thursday, head of BNN Bali’s eradication division, Senior Commissioner Sinar Subawa stated that the suspect was arrested in cooperation with Ngurah Rai Customs upon arrival at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport, Bali.
"He concealed the cocaine inside the walls of suitcases and backpacks. The total weight of the seized cocaine was 3,089.36 grams," Subawa said.
According to Subawa, YB acted as a courier and was promised a payment of Rp400 million (approximately US$23,000) for delivering the narcotics to a customer in Bali. As an advance, he received US$500 from the drug network in Brazil.
YB was arrested on July 13 after arriving on an Emirates flight from Dubai. Customs officers became suspicious and, after conducting an X-ray scan, discovered two hidden plastic packages of cocaine.
"Based on questioning, the suspect admitted he was instructed by a man named Tio Paulo in Brazil to deliver the drugs to an unknown party in Bali," Subawa added.
Authorities attempted a controlled delivery to identify the recipient. However, after waiting several hours at the arranged location, no one appeared to collect the package.
Upon inspecting YB’s phone, investigators found that Tio Paulo had deleted all conversations and could no longer be reached, effectively aborting the operation.
YB has been charged under Article 113(2) or Article 112(2) of Law No. 35/2009 on Narcotics. If convicted, he faces a minimum sentence of five years and a maximum of 15 years in prison.
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Translator: Rolandus Nampu, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: M Razi Rahman
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