A New Zealand national was arrested last month for possession of shabu (crystal meth), which authorities found in his boarding room in Kuta during the arrest.
“From this New Zealand national we seized a package of shabu weighing 0.51 grams,” Ruddi Setiawan, who heads the Denpasar Police, was quoted as saying in a statement.
The foreigner, identified as a 53-year-old man with the initials AID, claims to use the illegal drugs for himself as a way to relieve stress.
“He has been living in Bali since 2015 [and] claims to have been using drugs for the past five years because he’s addicted, for pleasure,” Ruddi said yesterday, as quoted by Tribun.
He added that AID is currently in Indonesia on a tourist visa and was using drugs when police arrived at his boarding house to make the arrest.
AID has been charged with Article 112 on possession of drugs under Indonesia’s drug laws, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment and maximum fine of IDR8 billion (US$562,390).
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