The Madeiran man arrested in Jakarta with 2,500 grams of cocaine was carrying the drug in bottles of shampoo and shower gel and told Indonesian authorities that he was offered 6,000 euros to take it to Bali, Indonesian media reported today.
According to the newspaper Tempo, which cites the head of inspection and investigation of customs at Soekarno-Hatta airport, Zaky Firmansyah, detained the 22-year-old Portuguese man as he entered terminal 3 on the 17th of March.
The newspaper reports that the young man’s “suspicious behaviour” caught the attention of customs officials, who when they searched his luggage found two bottles of shampoo and one of shower gel that had a “chemical odor.”
Tests on the contents of the containers “came back positive for a cocaine-like class I narcotic,” Zaky Firmansyah told Indonesian media on Monday.
Tempo also reports that the Portuguese said he was traveling alone, that it was the first time he had been in Indonesia, and that he was not the owner of the drugs, which were delivered to him before travelling.
“He said the drugs were given to him three hours before the flight by someone he didn’t know,” Zaky Firmansyah said.
The head of Soekarno-Hatta Airport Customs and Excise further pointed out to the newspaper that the Portuguese detainee had said that he was introduced to the person who asked him to transport the drug by a friend in Portugal and that he had been offered 6,000 euros to take the drugs to Bali. After agreeing, he was given a plane ticket and accommodation in the Pecatu area.
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
