Lindsay Sandiford, a 56 year-old Briton, was arrested on her arrival in the Indonesian island of Bali on the 19th May. She had flown into Bali from Bangkok in Thailand.
According to the Daily Mail newspaper, Sandiford?s luggage was x-rayed at Denpasar airport and customs officials found nearly five kilos of cocaine concealed in the lining of her suitcase. This amount of cocaine has a street value of around ?1.6 million.
It is being reported that Sandiford told police that her children in the UK had been threatened, and that was the reason she agreed to smuggle the drugs. Conversely, local police say they believe the woman had been part of an international narcotics syndicate for some time.
The news of her arrest was not released by Indonesian police immediately, as they persuaded Sandiford to take part in a ?sting? operation. This was designed to catch other members of the alleged drugs gang in Bali, who were to receive the cocaine from Sandiford.
Thus, three more Britons and an Indian national, as yet unnamed, were arrested in connection with the undercover operation. Police say they were all found with various illegal drugs in their possession, and one man was surveilled and caught collecting the smuggled cocaine from Sandiford.
Indonesia has strict drug laws with severe penalties. Cocaine is classed as a category one drug, and those convicted of possession may receive life imprisonment. However, the death penalty, to be carried out by firing squad, may be applied to convicted cocaine smugglers. Around 46 foreign nationals are currently awaiting punishment in Bali on death row.
The British foreign office has said it is aware of the recent arrests on the holiday island, and is ready to offer consular assistance. While the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office can offer support to UK citizens arrested abroad, such as forwarding money to a detainee from their family, they cannot offer legal advice, start legal proceedings or investigate a crime.
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Original story:
Daily Mail
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Telegraph
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