Australian identified after alleged 1.7kg cocaine bust in Bali

Singapore/Bali: An Australian man is accused of accepting a 1.7 kilogram haul of cocaine in Bali for a promised reward of just $4700, an alleged drug deal that could potentially put him at risk of the death penalty if convicted.

The 43-year-old, whom sources identified as Lamar Ahchee, was arrested in an apartment in the Canggu area of the popular holiday island on Thursday. Police allege he had two packages containing cocaine with a possible street value of $1.1 million hidden in lollies.

The 43-year-old Australian was arrested after allegedly receiving 1.7kg of cocaine. Credit: Amilia Rosa

The Cairns-born businessman was brought before the media wearing an orange jumpsuit and a face mask during a Bali police press conference on Monday.

Police allege he was promised Rp50 million ($4700) for collecting the consignment, and that he was awaiting instructions from someone called “boss” – whom the Australian allegedly did not know – about what he was supposed to do with them.

Lamar Ahchee, 43.Credit: Facebook

Acting on a tip-off that the drugs were on the way from Britain, customs officers intercepted the packages on May 20, then allowed them to continue to their destination – a post office – so police could see who picked them up, police chief Daniel Aditya Jaya said.

The names of the person who shipped the packages and the intended recipient were fake, he said.

Police allege the accused did not go to the post office personally and instead hired a driver to collect the packages on Wednesday last week and deliver them to him at a restaurant in the Renon district the following day.

The driver is not believed to have known what he was collecting.

After the handover was made, police followed the Australian back to his apartment and arrested him. A source close to the investigation told this masthead the Australian received minor injuries while allegedly attempting to resist arrest.

One of Ahchee’s neighbours told this masthead there was a commotion on Thursday in the alleyway near the apartments, which the resident assumed involved immigration officials, not narcotics officers.

“Cocaine, in a Muslim country? This is a Muslim country,” the neighbour said when informed of the charges.

A police statement said the seizure had “successfully saved 2666 lives”.

A conviction for an offence involving more than five grams of a category one drug such as cocaine is enough to open up the possibility of a death sentence under Indonesian law, but lesser sentences are also available.

The Australian Federal Police was contacted for comment. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was providing consular assistance to an Australian detained in Bali.

Police allege the intercepted cocaine has a possible street value of $1.1 million. Credit: Amilia Rosa

“Owing to our privacy obligations, we are unable to provide further comment,” a DFAT spokesman said.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Ahchee worked in public relations in Australia in the early 2000s and managed VIPs at a Sydney nightclub.

After moving to Bali, he became a marketing director of a day club and co-founded a digital advertising company before turning his attention to Brick Lane, a new restaurant development in Canggu, a coastal village near Seminyak.

“This is a cutting-edge venue design and I can’t wait until we get to the excitement with our menu and cocktails,” Ahchee posted on Facebook last March.

By October, according to another post, he had stepped away from his position as general manager.

“It’s been a ride that I will always be proud of,” he said.

Corporate records show that in Australia, he has been a director and a shareholder of two companies, including L A Talent Management Pty Ltd, which he quit in 2016.

If Ahchee were convicted, it would create a diplomatic headache for the Australian government, which opposes the death penalty, reminiscent of the Bali Nine case.

Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, the so-called ringleaders of the Bali Nine, were executed by firing squad in 2015, 10 years after the group was arrested on suspicion of trying to smuggle more than eight kilograms of heroin out of Indonesia.

The five members who remained in Indonesian prisons – Matthew Norman, Michael Czugaj, Scott Rush, Martin Stephens and Si-Yi Chen – were returned to Australia in December as new President Prabowo Subianto sought to begin his relationship with Australia on a positive footing.

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