Setup in Bali .

Got back from Bali a couple weeks back, left the day after the 14 year old was nabbed for drugs,on my last evening i headed down to Kuta beach to watch the sun go down,i got there late afternoon and pulled up a chair from one of the bars (spread out along the top of the beach they generally consist of three Eskys full of beer ,cool drinks etc managed by a bar tender)i pulled up a chair and a fellow from Perth and Adelaide also pulled up chairs and we ordered beers had a chat and a foot massage as the sun went down.

 

After about 1 1/2 hours and nobody around our immediate area we noticed a vial of what i now believed was hashish was just sitting on the sand between me and one of the other guys next to me,nobody knew how it got there or who it belonged to,,i believe it was thrown there from behind or one of the hawkers dropped it earlier.

 

I often wonder what thwe go was,,was someone waiting for one of us to pick it up then come in nabb us perhaps demanding a sum of money to sort the problem out ?

 

I thought it might be a fairly common thing tho i have not heard of it before,,i hear the dealers are in league with the police as soon as you make a buy they step in etc,,i posted this up on a Bali travel forum seeking answers but was accused of scaremongering .

 

My question is has anybody heard of anything similar to this,dropping drugs beside you at the beach or whatever,,i am not sure if its common or this was a rare event,,i still wonder what would have happened if i picked it up as i can't see an innocent reason for it being there,,


davidbland50's picture

Posts: 392

Date Joined: 24/07/11

Overated and dangerous

Sat, 2011-10-22 20:35

I am starting to wonder why we Australians continue to go to such a corrupt and unforgiving place. Sure it might have good sunsets and be cheap, but how cheap is spending fifteen years in some god forsaken hole of a jail through no fault of your own. Why not spend your hard earned money here in Australia where you will be guaranteed a great time and know you will get home safe so long as you aren't stupid enough to do something illegal in the first place.

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strike_zone's picture

Posts: 403

Date Joined: 09/09/10

great place

Sat, 2011-10-22 21:11

bali is a great place yes its cheap the scenery is awesome the foods great the beer is cold the hotels are clean(the ones ive stayed at) the people are friendly if you dont do anything wrong you dont have anything to worry about its only the dumb druggies that have an issue with the local police just remember your in another country and respect there laws and traditions and you wont have an issue plus dont ever say australia aint corrupt look at how much our politicions rort us

snappermiles's picture

Posts: 2100

Date Joined: 05/11/10

bali is great

Sat, 2011-10-22 21:29

apart from this luring of westerners into getting drugs then screwing them for it! but our gov is weak and pathetic if they had balls they could help this kid! if it came down to it threaten them to widthdraw the millions of dollars we send them every year to get this kid back home! but seriously COLD BEER?? you usually have to ask for an ice bucket to cool your beer!

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ALL FISHERMEN ARE LIARS EXCEPT YOU AND ME! AND IM NOT SO SURE ABOUT YOU!

strike_zone's picture

Posts: 403

Date Joined: 09/09/10

dont know where you go

Sun, 2011-10-23 00:36

but ive never had a hot beer in bali you do know all the bars resturaunts and even little 24hr stores sell cold bintang they even have it in fridges yes REFRIDGERATION funny that hey

snappermiles's picture

Posts: 2100

Date Joined: 05/11/10

it may be in fridges but i wouldnt call it cold

Sun, 2011-10-23 07:41

but that could just be me i like mine very cold just before it has ice in it! lol

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ALL FISHERMEN ARE LIARS EXCEPT YOU AND ME! AND IM NOT SO SURE ABOUT YOU!

Liam A's picture

Posts: 86

Date Joined: 18/07/11

My mate

Sat, 2011-10-22 21:47

who is from Lombok used to teach at the billabong surf school in kuta, he got put away for one year, same sorta thing but he got done over by tourists... It's the javanese you have to worry about the balo's are fine

Shorty's picture

Posts: 1549

Date Joined: 10/05/08

I think most of Balis

Sat, 2011-10-22 21:55

I think most of Balis problems are only within a square mile mainly Kuta in and around the nightclub precient etc

Walking from the White Rose hotel (near the bomb mermorial) to the beach i got plenty of offers for drugs,,its easy to say no and keep walking,i always believed if you have nothing to do with drugs you will have nothing to worry about,,after this incident tho i am wondering if its true tho?

If i picked it up and said who owns this ? or whats this? maybe someone was ready to nab me,,

 

I did think at the time if it happened to me it must happen a lot,,still no comfirmed reports of it happening to someone else thats good news so far i guess,maybe its a very rare occurance,,

 

Just read your reply Liam,,do you know the details of how he was set up or got charged ?

Posts: 219

Date Joined: 08/03/09

Bali sucks here's an alternative

Sun, 2011-10-23 08:04

Bali has gone downhill over the last 10 years.  The infrastructure - water, sewerage, power are insufficient for the growth, the ripoffs are everywhere, from drug and driving setups (read bribe the coppers).  Sure the Balinese people are nice, friendly etc but most of the people you see are now Javanese and are there for one reason - to make a quid.  What if you could go somewhere that was like Bali used to be, same climate, great fishing, very friendly people with an Australian police force and a government friendly to Australia and still cheap?  A country that is mainly christian and needs tourist dollars, where you can get a feed of crays on the beach for $5 to $10.  This country is closer to Australia than Bali, is a tropical island and is called East Timor.  Maybe we should change our holiday destination.  By the way, East Timor supported and saved Australian soldiers during the war, at a great personal cost to them

 

sea-kem's picture

Posts: 15040

Date Joined: 30/11/09

Agree Wagyl. Hopefully East

Sun, 2011-10-23 11:04

Agree Wagyl. Hopefully East Timor will take off one day.I'd rather support them than Indonesia.

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Posts: 252

Date Joined: 20/07/06

you're the 1st shorty

Sun, 2011-10-23 11:28

you're the 1st person i've heard this sort of setup happen to shorty.

sounds a bit suss to me glad you didnt get stung

Shorty's picture

Posts: 1549

Date Joined: 10/05/08

Hey Bibs when it happened i

Sun, 2011-10-23 18:44

Hey Bibs when it happened i thought it might be a common scam,but i can't find anybody else that its happened to so thats good news i guess.

Rod P's picture

Posts: 725

Date Joined: 20/05/08

Shorty when i was there

Mon, 2011-10-24 10:39

Shorty when i was there nearly 20 years ago i used to get offered drugs whilst coming out of the surf with just my board. One day the bloke said here you have it for free and threw it in between my board and arm. I immediately turned and nearly cleaned him up with my board only to have a copper sitting up the hill watching me say "No" So i just walked away. Sh-t myself and almost stopped surfing there..

Shorty's picture

Posts: 1549

Date Joined: 10/05/08

Yeah i could imagine that

Mon, 2011-10-24 12:16

Yeah i could imagine that would put the wind up you, i would not blame you if you stopped surfing with the big penaltys they dish out,,,

Deckie's picture

Posts: 1296

Date Joined: 03/04/09

Set-ups

Mon, 2011-10-24 19:04

It's a well known fact over there that if ya buy shit off the street, nine times outta ten who ever sold it to ya will inform the police for a kick back. The police will follow you to your hotel room, give ya a few minutes then kick the door down & bust ya for possesion, a bonus for them. The corruption runs deep over there & everyone is in it for money, from pay offs or bribes. I know there will be a few on here that think it's crap, but believe me if ya got money on ya u will almost certainly get off with a warning. The riding of motor bikes there is a classic money earner for the cops, no licence you pay, speed you pay, no helmet you pay etc.....but straight to the police officer & in cash.  say no more.

It is a great place for holidays but it is also a great place to end up in seriuos trouble for the unwary. If ya heading there just be carefull & enjoy Bali for the nice points. sun, cold beer & a fun time.

 

cheers Rob

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Cheers & Stay safe

Shorty's picture

Posts: 1549

Date Joined: 10/05/08

Yeah motor bikes and scooters

Mon, 2011-10-24 20:26

Yeah motor bikes and scooters is where they make the big money,,i heard of one guy getting stopped 22 times while he was there ,he was over for a fair while tho but they pick the Westerners out from 20 locals rideing along,rideing without helmets,speeding etc and other things even if you are going the same speed as the others and nobodys wearing a helmet.

 

Best thing is pay the "fine" and don't ask for a receipt like some folks do,your money goes direct to helping needy police and their familys,lol

Liam A's picture

Posts: 86

Date Joined: 18/07/11

Shorty

Mon, 2011-10-24 22:12

When he knocked off from a class there were cops standing near their gear... Was a setup and he got the blame for it, it was a two against one story. He was telling me the last time I was over that the police officers families pay a hefty amount for them to join the coppers, they are willing to because of the extra cash they make on the side... Better off going to Lombok and gillies than Bali

Shorty's picture

Posts: 1549

Date Joined: 10/05/08

Yeah you pay 200,000,000

Tue, 2011-10-25 16:31

Yeah you pay 200,000,000 rupiah to become a police man or something like that or maybe 2 ,000,000 anyway about $200 its the oppurnity to make big biccys,,the average wage in Indo is $2 a day or something and a police mans is not much better,,prison guards in Kerobenken jail near Kuta can triple there monthly pay in one day if they have they fingers in a few pies (scams)

 

In Bali theres a saying if you lose a chicken and call the police you will lose a cow,,in Bali ex pats say never call the police for anything,,

Posts: 459

Date Joined: 20/01/11

Yeah I heard that also. for

Tue, 2011-10-25 16:34

Yeah I heard that also. for some government jobs people bribe the officials up to 4 or 5 years worth of wages before they start the job.

Bodie's picture

Posts: 3758

Date Joined: 05/11/07

same with if your in a taxi

Tue, 2011-10-25 14:18

same with if your in a taxi and he has a car accident. Open the door and walk straight away!

If a cop see's a westerner in the car out comes the hand, and its not cheap either!

 

Your not the driver i know, but it doesnt matter to them. your in the car, your at fault too

crasny1's picture

Posts: 7006

Date Joined: 16/10/08

Now I understand why there are so many cops everywhere

Tue, 2011-10-25 14:49

There was always 2 outside our Hotel, and you would spot them everywhere. I thought how can they afford that. Now I know I think.

Neels

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Shorty's picture

Posts: 1549

Date Joined: 10/05/08

Hey Neels often Hotels and

Tue, 2011-10-25 16:34

Hey Neels often Hotels and night clubs or whoever will pay for police to be out the front its a private arrangement and they are supposed to be working in the streets as cops but they moonlight while on duty for more cash,,,

sea-kem's picture

Posts: 15040

Date Joined: 30/11/09

Anyone know whats in the

Tue, 2011-10-25 21:01

Anyone know whats in the little vials I kept getting shoved in my face down the street? My 10yr old boy was offered the things.

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Love the West!

Posts: 459

Date Joined: 20/01/11

Pseudoephedrine most likely.

Wed, 2011-10-26 07:54

Pseudoephedrine most likely. I think you can actually buy it in the Chemist, that is why they are so open about it. After they try with the pseudo they pull out all the other narcotics.

Shorty's picture

Posts: 1549

Date Joined: 10/05/08

Hash apparently,,They just

Wed, 2011-10-26 07:44

Hash apparently,,

They just open the palms of there hands and offered me a few times without saying a word but my sister got "Hasshessh Hasshessh " out of a few that offered,,

 

Also comes in cigerette packets when they offer,,they flip the top of the packet and show you drugs inside,,

Posts: 9358

Date Joined: 21/02/08

Ahh don't have to go to bali

Wed, 2011-10-26 08:24

Ahh don't have to go to bali for that sort of crap.

I remember being offer heroin more than 50 times in 2hrs back in Cabramatta in the 90's sometime.

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