Lawyer of Australian man arrested in Bali for allegedly aiding in drug smuggling operation says client was unaware package contained drugs
Lamar Aaron Ahchee, 43 was arrested in Bali on Monday with police alleging he aided in the smuggling of 1.8 kilograms of cocaine into the south-east Asian country.
The man was arrested at the location where the drugs were allegedly delivered, with authorities estimating the drugs to be worth $1.1 million.
Police in the Indonesian province allege the man arranged to have two small packages containing cocaine picked up from a post office and taken to him, and that the packages arrived in Bali last week disguised as small chocolate wrappers.
The lawyer representing the man said his client was extremely distressed he could face the death penalty if convicted, so much so he threw himself against the wall of the police station after being arrested.
Edward Pangkahila said that although his client was a regular user of cocaine, he was completely unaware the packages contained drugs, and that he only retrieved them as a 'favour' to a friend, who Mr Ahchee claimed deceived him.
"He's telling me that honestly, he doesn't know what is inside [the chocolate wrappers]," Mr Pangkahila said.
"Lamar is very upset and stressed because he knows [he could face the death penalty]," he stated.
'All these drug dealers, they will involve innocent people because if and when police make an arrest, they are not the ones with the drugs,' he said.
Police are not alleging that Mr Ahchee smuggled the packages himself, but rather that he was promised 50 million rupiah ($4,731) by someone called 'boss' to collect them.
Mr Pangkahila said his client had known the friend for only a year, and that he had since left town.
The lawyer also stated Mr Ahchee had not received payment for collecting the packages and never agreed to accept one.
"I can't speak for the police, but I can speak for my client. [Ahchee] had no idea what was in the package; he never admitted it was his, he never received or was promised payment. It was just a favour.
Authorities are accusing Mr Ahchee of arranging for a driver to retrieve the drugs from a Bali post office, and that the Cairns-born entrepreneur collected the parcels the day after at a restaurant.
Police, who were tracking the parcel since it's arrival from the UK, then followed Mr Ahchee back to his residence and arrested him.
Mr Ahchee is yet to be charged with an offence, but authorities have indicated he could be slapped with a range of charges including some that contain the death sentence as the maximum penalty.
He was presented to the media at a press conference on Monday wearing a black balaclava and an orange jumpsuit.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed it was providing consular assistance to an Australian citizen detained in Bali.
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