BADUNG, Bali — A 25-year-old woman from Kazakhstan was detained after allegedly carrying 1.079 kilograms of suspected hashish in her suitcase when she arrived at Bali’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport from Bangkok.
The woman, identified by authorities by her initials VM, was detained by the Bali Provincial National Narcotics Agency (BNNP Bali) and Customs officers on Tuesday (Aug. 4).
Bali BNNP Chief Brig. Gen. Putu Putera Sadana said the detention followed an inspection of passengers arriving on a Bangkok-Denpasar flight.
“We successfully prevented a female passenger on the Bangkok-Denpasar route from bringing narcotics into Bali,” Putera said in a statement on Wednesday (Aug. 12).
Suspected hashish hidden in plastic container
According to Putera, VM allegedly concealed the suspected hashish inside a plastic container placed in her suitcase among clothes and accessories.
During the inspection, officers found a substance suspected to be hashish weighing 1,079 grams gross inside the container.
Authorities said VM told investigators that she had been instructed by another Kazakhstani woman to bring the suitcase to Bali.
She was allegedly told to hand the suitcase over to a person she did not know after arriving on the island.
“Investigators immediately followed up by examining VM’s communications with her handler in Kazakhstan,” Putera said.
BNNP Bali said its investigation found that the person described by VM as her superior had already left Indonesia in 2020.
Suspect faces narcotics charges
VM has been named a suspect and is being held at the Bali BNNP office along with the seized evidence.
Authorities said she will be prosecuted under Article 111 paragraph (1) of Indonesia’s Law No. 35 of 2009 on Narcotics.
The provision carries a prison sentence of between four and 12 years, according to the law.
The investigation into the alleged handler and other parties involved remains ongoing.
Kazakh Woman Detained With 1.079 Kg of Suspected Hashish at Bali Airport
