Melbourne club kings facing weeks cramped together in Bali prison cell
Clad in orange jumpsuits and shackled together, Melbourne nightclub figures William Cabantog and David Van Iersel have been paraded before cameras by Bali police as evidence seized in drug raids in party hotspot Canggu was revealed.
Law & Order
Don't miss out on the headlines from Law & Order. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Melbourne nightclub figures facing up to 12 years in a Bali prison have been paraded before waiting cameras as police probing an alleged drug ring laid bare evidence seized during raids.
Shackled and wearing orange jumpsuits, Will Cabantog and David Van Iersel bowed their heads as they were led out of Denpasar police station and through a media throng this morning local time.
Police alleged that the men were caught with 1.12 grams of cocaine, and what appeared to be a set of scales were seized during weekend raids.
Mr Cabantog and Mr Van Iersel were arrest at the Lost City nightclub about 2.30am on Friday.
Denpasar police chief Ruddi Setiawan said police had investigated information that two foreigners were using narcotics before arresting the pair in a nightclub in the hip expat haven of Canggu.
Police also alleged that the men had returned urine tests positive for narcotics, with the results of blood tests still pending.
The head of Denpasar police’s investigations unit, Mikael Hutabarat, alleged that cocaine had been found in Mr Cabantog’s pants pocket.
He said that the men claimed to have bought the drugs from another foreigner, with the initial N.
Mr Hutabarat confirmed that “there might be other suspects” involved in the drug drama but said police were “still chasing” them.
“We are still deepening (the investigation),” he said.
“For the time being, we think that both of them (Mr Cabantog and Mr Van Iersel) are drug users.”
It comes as figures linked to a Melbourne nightclub targeted in a double fatal drive-by shooting in April are embroiled in the drama surrounding a major drug bust in Bali.
Hospitality identities connected to Prahran’s Love Machine were involved in the aftermath of a series of dramatic raids at the weekend at the Lost City Bali in tourist mecca Canggu and other properties.
Cabantog, 35, and Van Iersel, 38, are being held in custody after the raids, allegedly part of a probe into an alleged cocaine trafficking ring.
Another man fled to Melbourne, via Singapore, as the weekend raids unfolded, leaving his mother and girlfriend behind. He arrived back in Victoria last night.
Bali-based sources told the Herald Sun that a flurry of calls involving a former senior operator at Love Machine prompted several Aussie expats to go to ground and plan their departure from Bali.
In a now-deleted social media post, one Melbourne man described the ordeal as “an absolute nightmare”.
“Our last 24 hours has been an absolute nightmare, from what was meant to be a special two months break together at our home away from home has turned to s*** literally overnight,” he posted on social media.
“Thanks for everyone who has reached out,” he added, signing off #donttrustnokent with emojis of a rat and a cocktail.
Love Machine made headlines in April after security guard Aaron Osmani, 37, and patron Richard Arow, 28, died from injuries suffered when the fatal shots were fired as they stood outside.
The Prahran shooting is one of a succession this year suspected of having links to Middle-Eastern organised crime figures.
How the raids unfolded
It is understood several raids were carried out in a probe of an alleged cocaine trafficking ring, including at nightclub Lost City Bali, where Mr Cabantog worked as a promoter.
The Australian community in Bali has been on high alert since the weekend raids, with a well-known hospitality figure fleeing to Singapore after being tipped off.
In a now-deleted social media post, the Melbourne man described the ordeal as “an absolute nightmare”.
Denpasar police narcotic unit head Putu Budi Artama told the Herald Sun both men were arrested at the popular nightspot. Police accused them of using cocaine.
A police source confirmed authorities were pursuing 10 to 14 others, including foreigners, in the investigation.
Local lawyer, Denny Sedana, said yesterday he had met the pair but had not officially been appointed as their legal representation. “Both are healthy,” he said.
The Herald Sun understands CCTV footage was seized by police during the raids and a set of scales was found in a scooter.
It is believed police questioned a number of Melbourne identities and raided homes.
The Melbourne hospitality figure who fled Indonesia said: “From what was meant to be a special two months break together at our home away from home in Bali, turned to shit literally overnight.”
BALI’S JAIL NO PARTY FOR PAIR
Bali’s hard line approach to drugs could see William Cabantog and David Van Iersel booked for an extended stay at Hotel K.
The infamous Kerobokan Prison is the least desirable accommodation on the tourist island — and a far cry from their usual high-life.
Sources have told the Herald Sun the nightclub figures have been sharing a police cell of about 5m x 10m since they were arrested on Friday.
They are likely to remain in that cell for up to two months before paperwork is finalised and they are transferred to Kerobokan.
The prison, previously home to Australian drug smugglers Schapelle Corby, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, is said to run by its own rules.
“It hasn’t evolved in 30 or 40 odd years,” a local named Putu told the Herald Sun.
“Those boys will be feeling it now. If a fight breaks out in there, the guards don’t break it up. If anything, they will place bets on who will win.
“It’s really nasty and a law onto itself.”
The dank and smelly prison has no beds or western toilets.
Instead, if lucky, prisoners can buy themselves a “gnarly old thin cardboard” or makeshift bed to bunker down on at night.
Arrests came as shock to families
Despite word of the duo’s arrests spreading throughout the hospitality industry, the men’s families appeared to be in the dark.
Mr Cabantog’s parents told the Herald Sun they had not spoken to him in months and had not heard of his arrest.
“We haven’t heard any news about him,” his father said.
“We don’t know anything yet … somebody is trying to contact him.
“As of now, we don’t know anything.”
Mr Van Iersel’s father, Dirk, said his son was working in Bali. He spoke to him about a week ago.
“I don’t know anything about it,” he said when asked about the arrests. “He hasn’t rung me about it.”
Both Mr Cabantog and Mr Van Iersel have extensive experience working in a string of high-profile Melbourne venues.
Former colleagues told the Herald Sun Mr Van Iersel was “a great fella” well-known among the hospitality community.
Mr Cabantog is understood to have been let go from Eve nightclub, where he worked as a bar manager about 10 years ago, before stints at Bond Bar, Boutique and Club 23.
He moved to Bali late last year to transition to the “island life” and last week posted on social media about having been “engulfed in the scene” before the move.
“I wasn’t myself and I didn’t know who I was. I was so engulfed in the scene that all I knew was to serve purpose to others rather than serve purpose to myself … but after being here I can honestly say I have found myself,” he said.
MORE NEWS:
Several people living in Bali who know Mr Cabantog said its nightlife was very different from Melbourne’s.
“You can’t be a loose cannon or have a big mouth,” one said. “A lot of Melbourne people come here with money thinking they can cut and paste their life here, they throw money around like it’s going out of fashion and big noting to the wrong people.
“You can’t act like that in a place like Bali.”
Several Melbourne nightclub figures told the Herald Sun they were rallying around the duo and working to bring them home.
Their arrests come just days after a Melbourne wedding celebrant was rearrested in Bali during his rehabilitation period.
Greg Egli, formerly of Keilor, Melbourne, was originally jailed in Bali for eight months after being convicted of possessing methamphetamines.
But most of his sentence was to be served during a five-month stint in a drug rehabilitation centre.
But last week he arrested again over what police suspect is 0.15 grams of methamphetamine.
Egli remains in police custody while forensic tests are being conducted on the substance found.
The 41-year-old runs a wedding business in Bali and is regularly pictured conducting ceremonies.
Another Australian, Sydney man Ryan Scott Williams, 45, faced court last month charged with making his own cocaine after police allegedly found 43.1 grams of the drug at his villa.