The resort island of Bali conjures up images of beaches and gentle lapping Pacific Ocean waves.
But a Brazilian teen who traveled there could end up in front of a firing squad after she was charged with smuggling drugs onto the island.
Bali is part of Indonesia, which has very strict laws against drugs.
As recently as 2016, four convicted drug smugglers were executed by a firing squad, according to CNN.
Teen tourist could face execution by firing squad in Bali for alleged drug smuggling https://t.co/7jI0C82fK6 pic.twitter.com/vN9RgGVzKy
— New York Post (@nypost) February 9, 2023
Manuela Vitoria de Araujo Farias, 19, is accused of having three kilograms of cocaine in her luggage when she landed on Jan. 27, according to the New York Post.
Farias flew from Brazil to Bali via Qatar, but the drugs were not detected at her interim stop, the Post reported.
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Davi Lira da Silva, the teen’s lawyer, said the girl was tricked into bringing the drugs to the island, according to the Bali Times.
He claimed she was hired by a gang that told her once she reached Bali, she could have Buddhist prayers said to help her mother, who recently suffered a stroke.
A 19-year-old tourist could face death by firing squad after allegedly smuggling drugs into Bali in her luggage.https://t.co/jJkuROaMvi
— news.com.au (@newscomauHQ) February 9, 2023
“They said that she could pray in the temples to ask for her mother’s healing,” da Silva said.
Australian tourist Jeffrey Welton, 52, had been in danger of the death penalty when he was arrested in September and charged with bringing drugs to the island, according to Australia’s news.com.
Welton had been charged with bringing eight grams of heroin and 0.34g of methamphetamine into the country.
Australian drug smuggler Jeffrey Welton escapes Indonesian death penalty in Balihttps://t.co/r9qwSQ2BN1
— WhatsNew2Day (@whatsn2day) January 24, 2023
Last month, Welton was sentenced to eight months in rehab instead of being executed or put on death row.
The Post report indicated that Welton’s lawyers were able to persuade authorities that Walton was an addict and not a smuggler.
The website BaliTraveler also noted that, unlike many Western countries, possession of marijuana is illegal in Indonesia.
