BADUNG, Bali — Bali police have named a 32-year-old Australian national, identified only by the initials NPJ, as a suspect in a drug case after being arrested during a routine traffic stop on June 9, 2025.
Police discovered 0.85 grams of cocaine and 0.53 grams of methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) hidden in the pocket of NPJ’s fitness shorts.
According to Adjunct Senior Commissioner M. Arif Batubara, chief of Badung District Police, NPJ has been charged under Article 112 (1) of Indonesia’s Law Number 35 of 2009 on Narcotics, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
During questioning, NPJ admitted to ordering the cocaine earlier that day around the Ungasan neighborhood in Jimbaran. Officials believe the drugs were for personal use.
Adjunct Commissioner Nyoman Sudarma, chief of the Badung Police Narcotics Division, said the arrest took place at a routine traffic stop near Tuyung Tutul intersection on Pererenan Road, Mengwi sub-district, around 6 p.m. local time. NPJ was stopped for not wearing a helmet and was accompanied by an American woman, who was later released as she was uninvolved.
Noticing NPJ’s nervous behavior, the officer conducted a body search, uncovering the plastic bag with the white powder, later confirmed to be cocaine.
The National Narcotics Agency (BNN) has noted that narcotics circulating in Bali largely originate from the Golden Triangle — a major opium-producing region spanning Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos. Laboratory tests and seizures indicate the drugs seized in Bali match those produced in this transnational ring.
