CANBERRA: An Australian accountant who stood as a candidate for the Liberal Democrats in Peter Costello’s Melbourne seat has been arrested in Bali on drug smuggling charges that carry the death penalty.
Isaac Emmanuel Roberts, 35, was arrested with 19.97 grams of crystal methamphetamine and several ecstasy pills in his luggage on December, He faced a media conference in Bali today with two other men from Malaysia and the US, each wearing a black balaclava over their heads and bright orange prison clothes. Guards standing behind them carried assault rifles. Mr Roberts, a chartered accountant who has worked in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney, was arrested after a search of his luggage when he landed at the Indonesian holiday island.
It is alleged he carried 19.97g of crystal methamphetamine and 14 tablets that later proved to be ecstasy. Details of the arrest, however, were kept under wraps until today when officials announced the bust.
Police alleged Mr Roberts admitted to being a user of drugs but not a dealer, meaning he would likely not ultimately face the death penalty.
Mr Roberts told media as he was taken out of the conference that he had been invited to Bali. “They knew I was going to bring something,” he said, Fairfax reported.
