Indonesia is a country with particularly strict drug laws as Australian smuggler Jeff Welton (51) is finding out. Welton is currently experiencing drug withdrawals in a Bali prison after being caught with 8 grams of heroin. The drugs were stashed in a condom among Welton’s belongings.
Authorities also found a bit of meth along with the heroin.
Australian Man Arrested in Indonesia for Smuggling 8g of Heroin and Meth – Going Through Withdrawals According to Lawyer
Welton lives in Bali where he was a diving instructor and enjoyed surfing. In early September 2022, he was returning from Vietnam when the drugs were discovered at Denpasar Airport.
Given the zero tolerance approach towards drugs in Indonesia with an amount of heroin over 5 grams being a life sentence or a death sentence, this was an extremely serious situation for the Australian.
In an interview with 7NEWS in Bali, his lawyer Sienny Karmana said that Jeff Welton was going through withdrawals and that he was “a heavy drug addict.” Karmana would add that the doctor at the National Narcotics Agency would “check him every time and give him the substitution medicine he needs for the withdrawal.”
Welton’s situation would be very familiar to fans of Locked Up Abroad or Banged Up Abroad where people visiting or staying in a region known to be aggressively anti-drug smuggling ends up behind bars.
It can take years for them to finally be released through the law and international intervention. Or they manage to escape as Billy Hayes detailed in his 1977 autobiography Midnight Express.
What do you think of Jeff Welton’s case? Will he have to do his full time? Could Australia step in? Or will his lawyer manage to get him out of prison? Share your thoughts in the comments!
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