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Three foreign students nabbed for illegal drug possession
Badung Police nabbed three foreign students for possession of marijuana
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Badung Police nabbed three foreign students for possession of marijuana.
The suspects were identified as Dutch national Vrielink Leon [21], German national Mischa Karsten [21] and US national Patrick Leland Bird [19]. They are all students of a local tourism school.
Badung Police chief Sr. Comr. Dwi Suseno stated Wednesday that the suspects were arrested at separate places.
“Leon was arrested Monday on a street in Dalung. He has been on our wanted list for quite some time.
“We received a tip that the suspect was selling marijuana to other foreign students at his school,” he said.
Later, officers searched Leon’s boarding room and found 0.5 grams of marijuana. Another team of officers nabbed Leon’s roommate Mischa Karsten and found 10 grams of marijuana on him.
“The following day, my officers raided a boarding house on Nakula street, Kuta. In the raid, they arrested Patrick Leland Bird, who is also a friend of Leon, and confiscated 16 grams of marijuana,” Dwi Suseno added.
The three suspects are currently being detained at the Badung Police for further investigation.
Dwi Suseno disclosed that the suspects would be indicted with articles from the 2009 Narcotics Law.
“Leon will be charged as a drug dealer, a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 15 years imprisonment, while the other suspects will be charged as drug users, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment,” he said.
The police, he added, had notified the suspects’ respective consular agencies.
Data at the Bali Police shows that from the January-June period this year, 295 people were arrested for drug-related offenses. Out of that figure, 11 were foreign nationals.
Bali Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Gede Sugianyar Dwi Putra said the local police paid special attention to any crime that involved foreign nationals.
“Considering the island’s status as a top tourist destination, we give special attention to crimes are committed by foreign nationals,
or involve foreign nationals as perpetrators, because such crimes significantly affect the island’s image,” he said.
