'Missing Briton's lover had drug record'

'Missing Briton's lover had drug record'

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali

The Bali Police remain unable to obtain significant clues to
locate British aid worker Kate Osborne, 35, but they did reveal
that her boyfriend, who is also missing, had a history of
involvement in the illegal drug trade.

Police said on Thursday they learned that Kate's Peruvian
boyfriend identified as Jose Henricci, and sometimes called
Joseph, was involved in illegal drug trafficking along with
several friends, identified as Bruno, Voka and Rodrigo.

"Our criminal investigation division data shows that Joseph
and Rodrigo once were involved in the illegal drug trade in
Bali," Bali police spokesman Sr. Comr. Pangasihan Gaut said.

Gaut admitted that he was unable to provide further
information on the nature and scale of Joseph's involvement in
the drug business or whether it was connected to Osborne's
disappearance.

The disappearance of the aid worker has triggered an official
investigation by the British police.

A native of Carlisle, northern England, Osborne has been
missing since April 18. She left her personal belongings behind
and never made any contact with her parents. Her bank account has
remained untouched.

Police here have also learned that Henricci owed Osborne some
money. Osborne's housemaids, Ni Ketut Daya and Sumardana, said
Henricci had left Bali for Peru on March 28.

"Osborne expressed her intention to follow Henricci to Peru
once the man paid back his debt," Gaut said.

Curiously, although Osborne's abandoned car was found on April
21 in the parking area of the Ngurah Rai International Airport,
the airport authority did not find Osborne's name on its lists of
outbound or inbound passengers from April to May.

However, the name Joseph appeared on the April 13 list of
incoming passengers to Bali. The police were still following up
on that information.

"A special team of five investigators has been established to
conduct a thorough investigation and search for Kate Osborne,"
Gaut added.

The Bali police have alerted Interpol and the local police
across the province's nine regencies about the case.

"There is a possibility that Kate Osborne left Bali by another
method other than flying. That's why we have also alerted the
immigration offices in several other provinces," Gaut told.

Two British police detectives and Osborne's parents arrived in
Bali earlier this week to assist the investigation.