Jamie Murphy was 'absolutely' the victim of a fake drug shakedown scam
POSTED THU 24 NOV 2016, 6:17PM
Updated Thu 24 Nov 2016, 6:33pm
By James Purtill
The arrest of Jamie Murphy was a shakedown scam, says Kathryn Bonella, who has spent 10 years researching a trilogy of books on Bali's hidden drug world, including extortion through drug busts.
Hack has also spoken with a 22-year-old from Melbourne who said he was caught with Pseudoephedrine tablets on him five months ago at SkyGarden - the same nightclub where Jamie was arrested. Two bouncers threatened to call police, but they let him go after he paid a small bribe.
"They pocketed it and I walked straight through," Jacob told
Hack.
Kathryn Bonella says fake drug shakedowns are not uncommon in Bali. Based in Indonesia, she watched Jamie's story unfold on Tuesday and Wednesday. The 18-year-old from Perth was arrested late on Monday night. Kuta nightclub security say they found a sachet of white powder in his bum bag. He spent the night in lockup, knowing he could be in prison for years.
Jamie's parents at Perth Airport, preparing to fly to Bali where there son was in police lockup.
ABC News: Briana Shepherd
Police said they suspected the powder was cocaine. Under Indonesia's harsh drug laws, he was facing a maximum of four (possession) to 12 (supply) years prison.
Kathryn wondered: Why was it taking police so long to test the 'white powder'? On Wednesday afternoon, about two days after Jamie's arrest, with international media swarming on the story, the forensic results came back: negative for illegal drugs.
"Why was he kept from Monday night till Wednesday afternoon to figure out the drugs were Pandadol?" she told
Hack today.
"It's ridiculous. Why? There's only one reason why - they were obviously cleaning up.
"I wonder how much the parents forked out. Headlines in Australian papers that he's facing 12 years in Hotel K [Kerkoban prison]; the parents would have been terrified and hired lawyers, which are not cheap.
"The cops would have been doing deals."
She said he was "absolutely" the victim of a shakedown scam.
In her latest book,
Snowing in Bali, Kathryn investigated the fake illicit drug scene, working alongside a man who sold fake drugs from the back of a green motorbike.
"Most of these guys go into Circle K [the local convenience store] and get a bunch of Panadol and crush it up and flog it to drunk Aussie tourists who are just gullible and prepared to put their hand in their pocket and hand over money to these guys.
A hand of fake drugs.
Copyright: Snowing in Bali. Used with permission of author Kathryn Bonnella
"The guy said he regularly got herded up by police, put in a room with heaps of other fake dealers, and then released in the morning to go back and sell.
"His drugs would test negative instantly.
"Cab drivers also boasted to me and laughed about selling fake drugs to suckers. They'd just go into Circle K [the local convenience store] and buy some Panadol.
"I took a photo of a fake dealer's palm. It's covered with any drug you want. E's, coke, hash, etc. He thought it was funny.
"All fake."
How long should the drug test take?
According to Australian drug expert Dr David Caldicott, it would take about seven minutes to test the white powder in a properly equipped lab. But he added drug labs around the world were swamped and had waiting lists of about two weeks. Urgent tests jump the queue. For a high-profile case, such as this, the drugs would be tested up to four times.
In Australia, for an ordinary possession case, it might take two weeks for a laboratory to get round to testing the drugs, Dr Caldicott said. During this time, the person might be home on bail. Under Indonesia's system, however, Jamie Murphy was held under investigation. If the powder tested positive for illegal drugs, he would have been named a suspect.
His name and face have gone everywhere. His life has utterly changed.
"The consequences for possession are much more dramatic in Indonesia," Dr Caldicott said.
The sachet of suspected cocaine allegedly found on Jamie Murphy.
ABC News: Adam Harvey
Kathryn says when police in Bali are able to test drugs overnight.
"The police know full well these fake drug dealers exist and they're herded up. They test their drugs and instantly know they're fake and released the next morning."
Summary: it's hard to say how long the drug test should have taken. It may have taken two days to clear the backlog of other tests. Police were also testing Jamie's blood and urine, and may have been waiting to release the results of all three tests together.
It's worth noting that authorities had incentive to delay the testing; by amping up the drama of the case they were sending a clear warning to foreigners: Don't do drugs. There was also political capital to be made from appearing 'tough on drugs'.
Police at first said Jamie had been found with 5 grams of the white powder. This is an important figure; more than five grams equals supply. As a consequence, it was reported Jamie could go to prison for 12 years.
It later turned out he had been found with only 1.6 grams.
"Drugs are a big problem right across Indonesia.
"But it's a great industry for police as well to clean up and make a lot of money."
So this happens all the time?
Police say Jamie Murphy's 'white powder' tested positive for painkillers, caffeine and cough medicine. Legal drug combinations like this are openly bought and sold on the street in Kuta, where Jamie was arrested. Some tourists buy the white powder for the buzz, and some buy thinking it's something stronger, like cocaine or MDMA. Sometimes it's washing powder.
Before the tests results came back negative, Jamie's friends were claiming bouncers had planted the white powder. They pointed to footage they said proved this. But this footage actually showed the bouncers re-enacting for police how the incident unfolded.
Kuta police say Jamie told them he bought a sachet of powder on the street from a man who told him "it would make him feel better".
triple j textline:
- Bought drugs in Bali many a time, middle of the night on the back of some creeps scooter doing 100 to the closest ATM. Every single goddamn time the sample was amazing then when you get into what they give you ... well - you may as well put a wash cycle on
- My sister was set up in Bali. Police threw the sachet on the table she was at after an undercover tried to sell it to her. Luckily the restaurant owner came out and talked to the police so they left.
- We went to Bali with a group of friends this June, 21 year old males and did pills, speed, weed and cocaine and the media has hyped this crazily, every corner around Seminyak offer drugs as you walk past, restaurant staff on an island offered us drugs. The penalty is in the back of your mind but money talks there, my friend got caught in the same nightclub as this guy with pseudo tablets and paid him $10AUS and walked away.
The friend mentioned in this last text message is Jacob, a 22-year-old from Melbourne. He told
Hack he and his mates were at the same nightclub where Jamie was arrested - SkyGarden in Kuta - in June this year. Jacob said he bought some Pseudoephedrine nearby, and then paid the club bouncers a bribe to get back in after they discovered the sachet of tablets.
"I was quite drunk at Sky Garden, I quickly ran out the front and ran 20 metres down the road. I was bartering with this fella over price of pseudo," he told
Hack.
"I got 10 tablets for A$20, and got patted down as usual. They felt it in my pocket and pulled it right out. I was at the front entrance. They said 'Police! Police!'. I pulled out money, gave them both 100,000 Rupiah (A$10). They pocketed it and I walked straight through."
If this happens all the time, why was Jamie's story big news?
Once Jamie's story got in the news, it became big news; a Perth teenager at schoolies facing 12 years in an Indonesian jail. By then it was too late for Jamie to pay a bribe and walk away, according to Kathryn. She said most drug shakedowns don't reach this level. "I've heard stories of people buying fake drugs, and then being busted and paying off the cops. The industry is more generally drugs. Everyone I've interviewed has paid some money; extortion for both real and fake drugs is an industry."
She describes a vicious cycle, where the strong crackdown on drugs, the longer prison sentences, creates a climate of fear that leads to shakedown tactics.
Stories such as Jamie's only increase this fear of a prison sentence, the perception of random policing of drug laws, and will lead to other tourists being targeted.
http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/progr...-and-balis-fake-drug-shakedown-racket/8055560
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