Image: Bali Airport Arrivals. Credit: ST
Ngurah Rai Customs arrested two men from Thailand, AP, 20, and PS, 29 who were caught smuggling drugs on May 13, 2019, on I Gusti Ngurah Rai Arrivals Terminal. They came to Bali from Don Muang International Airport with an Air Asia flight that arrived at around 2am.
The Head of Customs General Directorate of Bali, Untung Basuki, confirmed the arrest at a press conference on Monday. “After we x-rayed the suspects’ baggage, we checked them further, checking the suspects’ bodies, and brought them to hospital to be x-rayed. When we saw the x-ray results, there was something suspicious in their stomachs,” he said to tribunnews.com.
It was found that the men had swallowed crystal meth that was found in the digestive tract. “This method is extreme, because it was dangerous for the swallower and it is hard to detect. Customs officers carry out the body checking to prevent prohibited items passing into Indonesia,” he added.
The Head of DJBC Bali Customs Enforcement and Investigation Dept., Husni Syaiful, said that PS swallowed 49 packages of meth with total gross weight of 528.03 grams or total net weight of 482.46 grams, while AP swallowed 51 packages of meth with total gross weight of 554.45 grams or total net weight of 507.02 grams. They predicted that the value of the meth is Rp 1.4 billion and the packages could be consumed by approximately 4,947 users.
They handed the case over to Bali National Narcotic Board (BNN). The case added to the growing number of narcotics smuggling cases discovered at Ngurah Rai International Airport. “This was the 30th case in 2019,” he said.
The Head of Ngurah Rai Customs, Himawan Indarjono, said that the suspects could not speak English, because they were from a remote area in Thailand and they needed a translator to communicate with the men.
