Two Russian nationals, arrested in Bali on drug smuggling charges, may face death penalty if convicted, the Jakarta Globe reported on Monday.
According to the daily, a 30-year-ol Russian yoga teacher Alexander Simonov was held on April 24 in Bali as he arrived from Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur. Airport customs’ officials held the man with 88 hashish capsules in his stomach.
Two days later another Russian national, a 43-year-old art designer Sergei Chernykh who was reported to have swallowed 359 hashish capsules, was also arrested in the Bali airport.
“We were suspicious because their stomachs were hard. We then detected hashish capsules in their stomachs after an X-ray scan,” the Jakarta Globe quoted head of customs at Ngurah Rai airport, Made Wijaya, as saying.
Wijaya said that both men, who said they had not known each other, had reportedly bought drugs in India. A total value of drugs is estimated at 966 million rupiah ($105,300), the daily said.
A spokesman of the Russian Embassy to Indonesia, Dmitry Solodov, confirmed on Monday that Simonov had been arrested. Russian diplomatic mission however was not aware of Chernykh’s detention, Solodov said.
Both men will face the death penalty if found guilty.
Over 60 foreign citizens, convicted of drug trafficking, are currently awaiting death penalty in Indonesia.
