A high-profile ‘fixer’ who worked to help free Schapelle Corby from jail has been spotted visiting an Aussie father-of-two detained in Bali on drug trafficking charges.
Troy Smith, who is accused of methamphetamine possession on the Indonesian island, allegedly tried to flee police but was arrested after warning shots were fired.
Smith’s family has hired ‘prison whisperer’ John McLeod, who runs consultancy firm Tora Solutions, which helps Australians in legal troubles overseas.
On Thursday, Smith, 49, arrived at the Denpasar District Court by prison van, which he got out of backwards and then tried to hide his face from the waiting local media.
Mr McLeod arrived shortly afterwards and was seen talking to Smith from a courtyard through steel prison bars.
‘Do you want me, Troy?’ Mr McLeod shouted through the bars, after which, Smith, wearing a white business shirt and tan slacks, came over to him.
Sporting a red prison vest over his white business shirt, Smith later learned that he will likely avoid jail time and instead serve his sentence in a rehabilitation centre.
Smith, a father-of-two originally from Port Lincoln in South Australia, was allegedly caught with 3.19g of methamphetamine inside a Colgate toothpaste container at Champlung Mas Hotel in Legian on April 30.
He and his new wife Tracy Ijusa were holidaying on the island when Indonesian police raided their resort room.
Troy Smith’s (pictured left) family has hired ‘prison whisperer’ John McLeod ( right)
At the time of his arrest, Troy Smith was enjoying an extended honeymoon in Bali with his Nigerian-born wife Tracy Ijusa. They had been married for just four months
Smith is pictured listening to a member of his legal team in court in Bali on Thursday
Troy Smith (wearing white shirt) is pictured about to get out of a prison van in Bali on Thursday
Mr McLeod, who is a former police officer, helped get Corby out of Bali’s notorious Kerobokan jail, which is where Smith could be spending a lot of time if he is convicted.
The hiring of the fixer is a major escalation in Smith’s defence strategy.
In 2016, he came to the aid of ex-soldier Adam Whittington — a child retrieval ‘expert’ who spent four months in a Beirut jail after a controversial 60 Minutes child ‘rescue’ operation went wrong.
In January 2022, Mr McLeod helped Jeffrey Welton, a surf instructor from Perth, avoid the firing squad after convincing the judges to treat him as an addict, rather than a drug trafficker.
Speaking to reporters after meeting Smith, Mr McLeod said ‘we’re just hoping to get a fair go, which I think we will.
‘We presented a very strong case. So it’s a judicial system. So we have to just go through the process and we’ll see what happens.’
He also revealed that Smith had thanked him for coming and said to him, ‘I’m glad you’re here’.
Later on in the court, the prosecutor requested that Smith be sentenced to eight months of rehabilitation at Anargya Dober House.
He had been originally facing up to 12 years behind bars.
Speaking to reporters after meeting Troy Smith, John McLeod (pictured) said ‘we’re just hoping to get a fair go, which I think we will’
Australian Troy Smith is pictured in court in Bali, Indonesia on Thursday. John McLeod is pictured left.
Smith (pictured) told the court he regretted his actions as he opened up about his drug use. ‘I respect Bali, I respect Indonesia, I feel sorry,’ he said
‘We have concluded that the defendant has been proven guilty of violating article 127 of narcotic law and the defendant should be punished,’ the prosecutor told the court.
The court took several mitigating factors into account, including that Smith admitted what he had done, that he behaved politely during the trial, that he had never before been convicted of a crime and that he is the backbone of his family.
An emotional Smith told the court that he was remorseful about the allegations and ‘loved Bali’.
A final verdict is expected to be issued by the court next week.
Smith’s wife Tracy, was a no-show at Thursday’s court hearing just days out from the couple’s six month wedding annivesary.
Speaking outside the court, Mr McLeod said that ‘fairness’ had been shown to Smith. ‘I think it’s a just outcome.’
Mr McLeod said he hoped Smith can now ‘move on with his life, put this bad episode behind him and so he can continue with his rehabilitation and become a better person’.
Aussie father-of-two Troy Smith is pictured beside a prison van in Bali on Thursday
John McLeod (top right) helped get Schapelle Corby (centre) out of Bali’s notorious Kerobokan jail
Troy Smith wore a red coloured prison vest on top of a white business shirt when he arrived at court on Thursday
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk