Phones, blades, and marijuana were among the contraband that turned up during a raid on Bali’s notorious Kerobokan Prison last night.
A joint team of 625 personnel from Bali Police and the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) stormed the place, sweeping 14 blocks, targeting mobile devices especially. The raid started around 7:15pm and was finished by 9pm, said Deputy Chief of Police Brig. Alit Widana.
Two stashes of marijuana, a package of suspected methamphetamine, four bongs, three ecstasy pills, 24 phones, and 16 sharp weapons, including eight knives were found, reports Tribun Bali.
“We will bring the evidence to Badung Police for analysis,” Widana said, explaining that the raid was done to break the chain of narcotics circulation between the prison and the network outside.
Kerobokan Prison, located in a densely populated area, close to some of the island’s most famous tourist spots, is infamous for being a hub in Bali’s drug trade.
“Our main goal was to actually find their communication tools. So that those in the prison cannot communicate with their outside network.”
Kerobokan is severely overcrowded and understaffed. An Australian TV crew with unprecedented access inside last month found that there were only eight guards on duty for 1,300 prisoners—in a facility originally designed for just 300 inmates.
Clearly evidencing the prison’s facility and security shortcomings was a jail break by four foreign inmates last month, on June 19. Two of the inmates were found shortly after in East Timor and sent back to Kerobokan, but Australian Shaun Davidson and Malaysian Tee Kok King remain on the run, the former hunted by Interpol.
Davidson, who has become a social media sensation since his escape from the Bali prison, actually appeared to have access to Facebook while locked up, posting a live video from inside the prison walls. Given the raid’s findings, it sure comes as no surprise now that the Aussie was able to get online.
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