A French national is facing the death penalty after he was caught carrying 70 grams of hashish at Ngurai Rai International Airport near Denpasar, Bali.
Vincent Roger Petrone, a 43-year-old plasterer, arrived at the airport on Tuesday evening on board a Malaysia Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur.
Customs officers stopped Petrone because he looked nervous and suspicious. They escorted him to the Bali International Medical Center in Kuta, where it was discovered that he had swallowed 4 capsules containing 70 grams of hashish.
"On the narcotics black market, the price of hashish reaches Rp 600,000 [$62] per gram, so the hashish that the suspect carried is estimated to be worth a total of Rp 42 million," Ngurai Rai's Customs and Excise Chief Made Wijaya told a press conference at the airport on Thursday.
He added that Petrone claimed the drugs were for personal use, but law enforcers doubted it.
"It's more likely [he's part] of a syndicate," Wijaya said.
Bali Police were now handling the case, Made said, and Petrone is being charged under Article 113 of the Narcotics Law, which carries a death penalty.
Source: Jakarta Globe, January 31, 2013
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