Myer model Jed Texas faces 20 years in Bali prison over drugs
Shock new images have emerged of the drugs stash allegedly found at the Bali villa of former Myer model Jed Texas who was once heralded as “the new Marlon Brando” and is now facing jail.
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Former Myer model Jed Texas has claimed that he is addicted to marijuana during his ‘virtual’ trial for drugs trafficking and possession in Bali.
Texas, 30, faces 20 years in a Bali jail if he is found guilty of allegedly trafficking and possession of 85.15 grams of marijuana that was allegedly found in his Canggu villa.
New images of the nine bags of marijuana were presented to the videoed court hearing by Indonesian prosecutor Nyoman Dewa Wira Adiputra.
Once celebrated as the new Marlon Brando on the London fashion scene, where he partied with supermodel Kate Moss, Texas now languishes in Bali’s horrific Kerobokan Prison.
The court heard the former model fled into the bathroom when police raided his villa in April.
“We received information that a foreigner used narcotics in the villa. Then on April 14 we went to the villa and I saw the defendant running to the bathroom. His face looked scared.
“We then searched the bathroom and found the packages of marijuana thrown into the closet (toilet),” police officer Anak Agung Ketut Sugawirawan told the court.
Fellow arresting officer Ketut Miarsi said a scale and an empty plastic package was also found on the Brit’s bed during the raid.
Through a translator, Texas told the court by video link that the marijuana was his but the scale had nothing to do with the narcotics.
Just last week Texas, 30, was suddenly dropped from the ‘mainboard’ of leading Sydney modelling agency Chic Management — where the hottest models are showcased — and his social media pages switched into private mode, no longer accessible to his thousands of fans.
His Indonesian lawyer Deny Sedana, claims that Texas used marijuana as often as three times a day and the nine packets were stockpiled to feed his habit during lockdown.
“Jed Texas uses marijuana every day. If he doesn’ use it, he can’t think. He can use up to three times compared to addicts who only use it once per day.
“He first used it while still in England because of the trauma (caused when) his friend was murdered. He bought the marijuana for stock due to the pandemic situation.
So, it’s not just for fun, but (Texas) is in a heavy addiction category,” Mr Sendana said.
In April, a tip off led Indonesian police officers Anak Agung Ketut Sugawirawan and Ketut Miarsi to raid the house where they performed a body search on Texas that failed to find drugs.
Police combed the property and uncovered nine marijuana-packed plastic bags concealed in the toilet.
A subsequent urine test of Texas was clear of narcotics.
The 30-year-old faces charges of trafficking and possession of narcotics that attract
maximum sentences of 20 years and 12 years respectively. He also faces fines of $1.6 million if found guilty.
Police will allege that London-born Texas admitted that he bought the marijuana for $60 from an unknown man in the Kuta region of the holiday island during lockdown.
“The body search at the time the defendant was arrested did not find narcotics – they were found in the toilet – and laboratory tests of his urine produced a negative result for narcotics,” said police prosecutor Nyoman Dewa Wira Adiputra.
Indonesia has some of the world’s harshest anti-drugs laws. These laws led to Queenslander Schapelle Corby, now 43, being jailed for nine years in the rat-infested prison for smuggling 4.3 kilograms of cannabis into Bali in her boogie board bag. She was released in 2014.
Just one year after Corby’s release, the Indonesian government put to death Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, the ringleaders of the Bali Nine heroin smuggling ring. They were executed by firing squad despite being model prisoners since their arrest in 2005.
In London, Texas worked for Vivienne Westwood, Burberry and Versace, before moving to Australia in 2015.
While enjoying the glamorous life in Bondi and Melbourne, Texas worked for Aussie retail giant Myer and appeared on the coveted cover of Australian Men’s Health Magazine.
Texas turned to food blogging with the short-lived social media page Models.Taste where he posted images of fine dining in Insta-friendly settings.
As a teenager Texas was scouted by agency Elite Management after he appeared in a fashion spread for the edgy gay magazine Attitude. He quickly appeared in the video ‘Rough’ where he charmed viewers with his broad bad-boy London tone and heavy accent. He talked of a life in acting after modelling.
During his time with Elite Management he travelled the world on assignments in New York, Stockholm and Marrakesh for the likes of Adidas. He also walked the catwalks for fashion weeks in Milan, Paris and New York. His images graced the pages of heavyweight fashion magazines Vogue and GQ.
The trial continues next week.
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Originally published as Myer model Jed Texas faces 20 years in Bali prison over drugs
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