Callers included baggage handlers and drug traffickers, who suggested that the interstate drug trade is alive and well here in Oz, but that to import anything to Bali would be plain stupid, with one caller stating:
"Why would you pay $10,000 for something in Australia and then try and sell it in Indonesia for a couple of hundred bucks."You would have to be an A-grade moron to think it's a good idea."
3 comments:
Nearly every sentence on your website about the Corby case is inaccurate.
Examples: You suggest she will get the death sentence if convicted. In fact this is most unlikely although it is technically possible.
You compare the value as evidence of the drugs in the Packer case but in fact it is in no way similar to the Corby case. In the Packer case the drugs were not found with any person and were in a public area of the boat and could not therefore be traced to Packer as opposed to other crew members. Corby was carrying the drugs in her case.
The drugs are not worth zero in Bali despite what the "experts" on your site say. High grade marijuana is an expensive commodity in Bali and goes for three times the ounce price of the local ganja in Bali.
The quantity in the bag would sell for about $43,000 Australian dollars if sold by the ounce in Bali at current prices
People do smuggle drugs to Bali (including several large cocaine importations busted in the last two years)
Yes people smuggle drugs from Queensland to Sydney - in cars and trucks. Why would you risk doing it in one of the most high security locations in the country (an airport)
Kerobokan Prison is not "one of Bali's worst prisons". It is Bali's main prison and while conditions are not Australian standard, nor is it a hellhole as suggested.
I could go on but it seems you already know all the [wrong] answers from several thousand kilometres away.
Hi there, thanks for your comments. If I may offer a rebuttal...
Firstly, I am surprised you are disputing the death penalty. This is what the the prosecutor, Ida Bagus Nyoman Wiswantanu, is asking for, and he has previously successfully prosecuted six foreigners for importing drugs, one of whom did get the death penalty. Then, of course, there are the anti-drug crusaders/protesters who are baying for blood outside the court (and inside when they can) each day of the trial.
Secondly, Schapelle was not "carrying the drugs in her case", it was a boogie board, as has been widely reported, and she had not carried it, nor even touched it, since giving it to Qantas staff in Brisbane for the the first leg of her journey. When she got to Bali, the boogie board was not with the rest of her luggage -- it had been picked up by customs officers there, who had also already opened it before they called Schapelle's group over.
Next, whether the drugs are worth nothing or something in Bali, they would still pull nowhere near the street price you'd get for them here in Australia. High grade or not, $43,000 for the haul is still only just over half what you'd get for the amount in Australia by the ounce, however $43,000 is actually over twice the widely reported figure of $20,000, which is still considered an overestimate.
Moving onto the method of interstate drug smuggling by plane in Australia: you are correct that airports are high security, however you are incorrect in the notion that baggage handlers are subject to the same security constraints as the travelling public. It is easy peasy for a baggage handler to access luggage unseen, and to get in & out of the airport without needing to go through any scanners or other security checks, making them the perfect mule for such operations.
And finally, Kerobokan prison is notorious, whether you like it or not. It houses some of the countries worst criminals, including a few of the Bali bombers. That said, the word "worst" is a subjective term, I agree, as is "hell-hole", and therefore weighted differently by each individual. But even so, some of the facts are just plain awful: Schapelle shares a concrete-floored cell with eight other woman, and -- unlike some of the men in this prison -- they are not allowed out for exercise, except when travelling to and from court. (On foot, through crowds of hostile onlookers.) This is a hell-hole, an existence not fit for a dog.
Again, thanks again for your comments. I am enjoying the debate.
Placed in danger by lack of security... At the time of posting Shapelle has not been sentenced .. I pray that she will be freed!.. One would think the Australian Government would have shown more concern as the facts had emerged. They knew of the inter-airport drug system and staff involvement. Passenger CCTV & facilities not working on that day.. loss of baggage weight data and, more recently, absolute proof of baggage interference in the form of the Camel suit saga! There is plenty to worry the government and airport authorities. (Kiwi)
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