Bali 'the last paradise' now a heaven for druggies?
By Putu Wirata
DENPASAR (JP): Bali is not only a famous island where foreign and domestic tourists can spend their holiday and experience a wealth of culture, art and nature. The island, often called "the last paradise", has apparently also become a paradise for drug addicts, mainly in the tourist area of Kuta, where drugs have become a part of the Bali experience.
According to reports, taking ecstasy has become a trend among middle-class youths in Bali. They take the pills for the instantaneous gratitude, failing to take into account the health hazards. Even more tragic are reports that many adolescents are reportedly forced to sell themselves to pay for their drug addictions.
The owner of Goa 2000 and Taj Mahal restaurant in Kuta, Samun Fakhruddin, said the sale and use of drugs were an open secret. "That is an old song. If you want to try them, it is easy to find them. If you want to become a pusher there will be people making you the offer. But for me, being a small-scale businessman selling food and drinks is all right," he said.
The evidence that Bali has become a hub of drug activity is found in Kerobokan prison, where an increasing number of locals and foreigners are serving time for drug offenses.
As of September, there were 80 foreigners in Kerobokan, most of them there because of narcotics. There are also a number of foreigners currently being tried for drugs offenses at the Denpasar District Court.
The most recently reported drug raid involved actress Faradila Shandi (Ratapan Anak Tiri, A Step-Daughter's Woe), who was arrested in a house on Jl. Tukad Yeh Aya, Denpasar, where 25 ecstasy pills and devices to take shabu-shabu (crystal methamphetamine) were found.
The case, which is still being investigated, has given rise to polemic and criticism. When the police raided Faradila's house and found the ecstasy pills on the roof there were no witnesses. The tip-off on the location of the ecstasy, according to a police statement, was received over the phone by an unidentified caller.
Faradila herself has denied the charges, saying the ecstasy was planted by someone.
It is clear that over the years certain drug cases have stunned the public. The Nusa Tenggara Police -- as they were known before becoming the Bali Police -- led by Lt. Col. Moh. Kassah arrested Jhon Pagan in Sanur in 1985. Jhon was wanted by international police for smuggling a total of 30 tons of marijuana into the United States between 1984 and 1989.
A Badung district policeman was tried in the 1980s by the Military Court on charges of involvement of attempted murder while in the employ of a narcotics network.
Another big case involved Edy Kusyanto -- the owner of Ibiza restaurant in Kuta. He was caught in 1995 for possession of drugs, including 307 grams of hashish, 100 grams of cocaine, 9.8 grams of marijuana and 17.9 grams of ecstasy.
Also making news was Issac Thayeb, who was seized at Ngurah Rai Airport in May 1996. The Ujungpandang-born Kuta businessman was charged with attempting to smuggle 20,781 ecstasy pills into the country from the Netherlands. A month earlier, police in Kuta caught four foreigners from Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark and Switzerland, through an undercover operation led by the narcotics intelligence service.
An officer with the Bali Police who requested anonymity estimated 50,000 ecstasy pills with a total value of Rp 2.5 billion came into Kuta and its surrounding areas each month. In addition, there is marijuana, hashish and other drugs.
Although the frequency of drug transactions in Bali is rising and a number of the leaders of this illegal industry have been arrested, there is no indication that the police are close to uncovering the network which is moving drugs into the island.
Former Bali Police deputy chief Togar Manatar Sianipar, now the National Police spokesman, once said he was going to crack down on the network of narcotics dealers not long after the arrest of Edy Kusyanto. As of now, there is no tangible proof of such a crackdown.