Bali, Drugs, and Australians...

When will Australians learn that carrying drugs in Indonesia is a serious criminal offense? The odds are such that it really is only a matter of time, sooner or later you will get caught out. The penalties that attach to drug offenses reflect the seriousness that Indonesian law enforcement view this issue. If one has any doubts, then have a look at the Schapelle Corby case or those of the Bali Nine. Or, if you are more interested in seeing how you can do as little time as possible for indulging in your excesses, then have a look at the Michele Leslie (or Lee) or Robert McJannett cases (McJannett has indicated that he is petitioning for bankruptcy as his freedom, after a short jail stint, cost him AUD 71,000+).

An Australian, Angus McCaskill, was arrested in the Tuban district in Bali with five packets of cocaine in his possession.

The police have not said whether MCaskill was dealing or whether the cocaine was for personal consumption (red: addiction). This determination will be important in determining how much jail time McCaskill is likely to do. Having not seen the fact sheet it is difficult to say which way his legal representatives should go, but my guess is that if a guilty plea is the option chosen then this will be accompanied by relevant supporting documents to suggest that the fellow is an addict and the drugs were for personal consumption.

This would fall within the gambit of a Supreme Court Circular which directs District Courts to sentence offenders to rehabilitation type facilities or to shorter jail terms where the offenders can get the rehabilitation treatment that they need to be re-integrated into the broader community.

Interpol, Drug Trafficking Networks, and the Bali Nine

The Bali Nine case has taken an interesting turn. However, this turn, no matter how interesting, is not going to impact on the sentences already handed down on the Bali Nine. The alleged drug trafficking network, which has seen Interpol team up with the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the United States Drug Enforcement Agency to investigate the drug trade in Surabaya as this is the supposed entry point for heroin and other illicit drugs.

This is interesting because the AFP should have known about this considering they claimed to have broken a major drug trafficking ring at the time they gave up the Bali Nine to the Indonesian Police.

The cooperation will obviously include the Indonesian Police and more specifically the narcotics division. It seems though that this is a new development as it is being discussed as a recent discovery.

Strangely enough with the number of local drug busts and the increasing size of these busts it is hardly surprising that there is now a belief that major cartels and international drug organizations operate in an through the Republic of Indonesia. I guess the death penalty is not the deterrent that some claim it to be.

Heath Ledger and Mary-Kate Olsen

The Heath Ledger story seems unlikely to fade away in the near future, particularly as The Dark Knight does a roaring trade at the box office. It is also likely to continue as the buzz for the first posthumous Oscar since 1976 (Peter Finch for Network, if I am not mistaken) builds. The story will also continue as long as Mary-Kate Olsen maintains her silence, refuses to talk to investigators, and asks for immunity from prosecution if she does talk.

The facts that we do know is that the masseuse that found the unconscious or dead heath Ledger made calls to Mary-Kate before she called 911, we also know that the masseuse called again after paramedics arrived, and we know that Mary-Kate sent around her personal bodyguards. Mary-Kate's lawyer is maintaining that the starlet has told investigators all that she knows and therefore any further questioning is unwarranted and unnecessary.

It would seem that the investigators do not believe this and have gone so far as to obtain a subpoena. The subpoena by its very nature will compel Mary-Kate to testify before a grand jury if one is convened. The fact that investigators have gone to the trouble of getting subpoenas would suggest that a grand jury will be called. But law is a game in that sense and the threat of a grand jury is like shaking a tree and seeing what falls out.

It would seem that the investigators into the unnatural death of Ledger suspect that at least some of the drugs in the lethal cocktail of drugs that killed him were illegally obtained. The suggestion is that the prescriptions used were forged. The interest in Mary-Kate and the desire for investigators to follow-up with her could infer certain things but the allegations where these inferences are likely to lead have not been made public. Yet, most people should be able to join the dots on this one.

The claim for immunity immediately suggests that there is some degree of illegality involved that requires the maker of the statements, in this case Mary-Kate, needs protection from. I would have thought pleading the Fifth might have been an option in terms of not incriminating yourself at all. It is also interesting because Mary-Kate is the only person who investigators have wanted to speak to who has been reluctant to talk or who has claimed a need for immunity to be granted before speaking. Nevertheless, the other possibility is that all publicity is good publicity and drawing this thing out maximizes exposure.

There are drawbacks to maximum exposure like that the more coverage this gets the more it draws people out of the woodwork and then allows the investigators to put together a chronology of events even without Mary-Kate's testimony.

I enjoy watching the legal machinations unfold. After all it is my thing! My expertise is in this area.

Maybe there will be updates on this as things unfold or unravel, depending on which side of the fence you stand!