An Australian man is facing 15 years behind bars after being named a suspect for allegedly bringing a mixture of marijuana, tobacco and prescription-only drugs into Bali.
Joshua James Baker is currently facing charges of drug importation, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years, and drug possession, which is a 12 year maximum jail term.
Mr Baker was apprehended by police at Ngurah Rai airport on October 8 with an alleged 28 grams of marijuana and 37 pills of diazepam, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
Joshua James Baker (pictured) is facing up to fifteen years behind bars in an Indonesian jail
The 32-year-old is being held by police in Bali after drugs were allegedly found in his luggage
Bali police spokesman Hengky Widjaja said that the 32-year old, who was born in Mount Isa, Queensland, had been named a suspect but remained under doctor’s observation.
In the Indonesia’s justice system, naming someone a suspect in means that authorities believe they have enough evidence for charges to be filed.
The minimum sentence in Indonesia for drug possession is four years, and five years for importation.
Mr Baker previously evaded Balinese police for 10 hours by allegedly escaping from a toilet window as they watched TV after he was arrested at the airport.
He was finally detained by police after they allegedly caught him trying to bring antidepressants into the country.
Police say the man managed to borrow a staff member’s phone at a nearby mini-market before he got a taxi to visit a friend,The West reported.
Mr Baker, from Mt Isa in north Queensland, has been officially declared a suspect by police
Mr Baker, who reportedly escaped custody while the police ‘were too excited watching television’, caught the taxi to a fake home address to throw off police.
However, the Queenslander’s freedom was short-lived as he was caught by authorities while he was having lunch at a hotel in Kuta, a two-and-a-half hour drive from the airport.
‘Apparently Baker is smart … he pretended it was his house, like trying to open the gate, but apparently he went away once the taxi was gone,’ the deputy director of the narcotics directorate at Bali police, Sudjarwoko, told the publication.
Mr Baker, who was stopped by customs in Bali on Sunday for a holiday, reportedly told police he took the drugs from Australia and believed he is not guilty because it is legal to use marijuana in Australia.
The Queensland man is in custody at a Balinese police hospital but has not yet been officially declared a suspect.
Ngurah Rai Customs and Excise chief Budi Harjanto told the publication his officers became suspicious of Mr Baker after his luggage was scanned.
Inside his bag officers allegedly discovered 36 grams of marijuana mixed with loose tobacco and 37 Diazepam anti-depressant pills, Mr Harjanto said.
Police claim 36 grams of marijuana was found in Mr Baker’s bag when he arrived from Thailand
Police claim they also discovered 37 Diazepam anti-depressant pills in Joshua Baker’s luggage
Mr Harjanto claimed the marijuana tested positive in a narcotic test.
‘He said he brought it only for individual use, for himself. He said the drugs were planned to be used by himself. But we don’t know the truth,’ Mr Harjanto said.
Customs officers handed Mr Baker over to police on Monday to be interviewed but the 32-year-old allegedly escaped after asking to visit the toilet.
Police are still conducting tests on the Diazepam, Deputy Director of the Narcotic Directorate of Bali Police, Suwardjoko, told News.com.au.
‘He said that it is an antidepressant. He said he is sick, that he got depression, so he needs the medicine,’ he said.
‘We haven’t conducted intensive interrogation of him. We will check it in the lab first, after that, we will conduct intensive interrogation.’
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