Bali police nab 4 British 1 Indian for smuggling £1.6m cocaine from Bangkok

Balinese police paraded today four Britons and one Indian national, including 56-year-old housewife from Redcar, Lindsay Sandiford, at two press conferences in the capital city of Denpasar, Indonesia, after they were caught smuggling £1.6million worth of cocaine from Bangkok, the Mail said.

Sandiford was arrested on May 19 at Denpasar airport where authorities found the cocaine concealed in the lining of her suitcase when it passed the x-ray machine.

She broke down when interviewed by police and pointed at a married couple who owned a villa in Bali to be the recipient of her illicit cargo.

The couple was arrested and after questioning, pointed at two others staying at different locations in the city.

Customs official Made Wijaya believed the group belonged to a big international network despite claims by Sandiford she was forced to take the drugs because her children were being threatened harm in UK 'Despite what you see as a seemingly unassuming appearance, we believe that she has been part of a international narcotics syndicate for a long time.'

More than 140 people, a third of them foreigners, were in death row in Indonesia because of the strict drug laws.

If the five were found guilty, they could face the maximum penalty of death by firing squad.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2150763/British-housewife-56-arrested-smuggling-cocaine-worth-1-6million-Indonesian-island-Bali.html