Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
According to authorities, the two men are charged with smuggling vast amounts of cocaine.
Barely a week after one British traveller appeared in an Indonesian court on drug charges, another is now confronting the same perilous legal path.
The latest defendant, a 48-year-old property manager from southern England, is accused of helping move more than a kilogram of cocaine onto the island, several outlets, including Express, reports.
Prosecutors say the case forms part of a widening effort to disrupt foreign-linked narcotics routes into Bali, a destination that welcomed a record number of international visitors last year.
First allegations surface
The Sun cites Indonesian prosecutors for saying, Piran Ezra Wilkinson, from Chichester in West Sussex, is charged with possessing and distributing Class A drugs.
If convicted, he could face Indonesia’s maximum penalty for drug trafficking, which includes execution by firing squad.
The charges mirror those brought days earlier against fellow Briton Kial Robinson, 29, of Littlehampton, reported by The Independent.
Robinson’s hearing opened last week, where he was accused of transporting a similar quantity of cocaine into the country.
Arrest at luxury villa
During Wilkinson’s session in court, state prosecutor Made Dipa Umbara outlined how officers moved in during a sting at a villa near Canggu on September 4.
According to Express, Umbara told the court: “He was arrested at 2.30am after receiving two plastic packages containing cocaine with a total weight of 1,343.67 grams gross or 1,321 grams net.”
Investigators allege Robinson, already in custody after airport checks uncovered cocaine in his backpack, had been instructed to knock on Wilkinson’s villa door to deliver the packages. Wilkinson, prosecutors said, did not know Robinson had been detained the previous night.
Claims of wider scheme
Officials earlier stated that Robinson had flown from Barcelona via Istanbul and was found carrying roughly 1.32kg of cocaine in a Samsonite bag.
Police say he later alleged that Wilkinson and a man identified only as Santos were behind the plan.
Robinson reportedly told investigators he had been offered £2,280 in cryptocurrency to fund his trip and was expecting a further £3,600 for completing the delivery.
Indonesian authorities say Bali has become a lucrative target for cocaine networks, noting that local street prices far exceed those in major European cities. The country’s National Narcotics Agency recently warned that the island is now firmly on international smuggling routes.
Bali uses firing squad for executions. However, it has not been used since 2015, according to The Independent.
Sources: The Independent, The Sun, Express, Daily Mail
