14 year old Australian boy arrested on drug charges

Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd says the Australian government is working closely with Indonesian authorities to obtain the release of a 14-year-old Australian boy who was allegedly caught with drugs while on holiday in Bali.

Mr Rudd said the boy from NSW was being held at police headquarters in Denpasar.

"I have just spoken with our ambassador in Jakarta (Greg Moriarty) and I have indicated to him that his number one priority in the immediate period ahead is how we support this young boy and his family and do everything we can to obtain his early return to Australia," Mr Rudd told reporters in Sydney on Thursday.

He said the Consul and the Consul General were having "rolling" contact with the family and that his heart went out to the parents.

"I think if you put yourself in the position of being a mum or a dad with a 14-year-old who's got themselves caught up in this situation, you're heart would go out to the parents."

It is believed the boy was arrested on Tuesday in possession of a small amount of marijuana.

He was allegedly caught with 6.9 grams gross of marijuana or 3.6 grams nett.

Bali arrest boy our No. 1 priority: Rudd

A friend of mine was waitng down at Polda in Denpasar, where the boy was being held. He works for the papers in Oz(photographer).
He said that the word is big money to get the kid out of jail and back home.

only 6 years...hahaha.
this kid is not going to jail over this..

Entrapment here has hit an all time low. Its bad enough these scum bags cops pull this shit on unsuspected tourists but to go after some one who is 14 is lower than low.

Originally Posted by BKT

Entrapment here has hit an all time low.

you sure got that right, seems that is happening more and more lately..

Originally Posted by BKT

Its bad enough these scum bags cops pull this shit on unsuspected tourists but to go after some one who is 14 is lower than low.

Totally agree

Originally Posted by BKT

Entrapment here has hit an all time low. Its bad enough these scum bags cops pull this shit on unsuspected tourists but to go after some one who is 14 is lower than low.

It is not only lower than lower, it is incredibly stupid!

Give the beggar some money if you want to help him but do not take the dope!!

im with kiwi on that one the kid knw that it against the law he so y take to help some just give them the money or food to eat. bkt your also very right but the matter of the fact it tourist here knw it against the law but they still do it. and to be honest im sick of young stupid tourist coming to bali getting drunk treating the local like shit and every one els. driving like idiots on their rental motor being a danger to every on the road and them slef. im just sick of them coming here and treating this place like a playground that y i never go into kuta any more im just soo over it. At least when your in seminyak all the tourist are nice and friendly, but when you go past jl padama it a whole different story. i fell sory for for some country cuz that house the local think every act in that country and it not ture. any im gaan stop cuz i can go on an on about this.

Boy I'm glad I don't live in Bali with all the under cover police selling drugs to poor tourist!!!!!!!!
Maybe the news paper should read
Another Dumd F....king di..khead Aussie arrested for buying drugs.
This really looks good for Australia, I can really hold my head up high.
Now every time you walk into Kuta someone (under cover policeman) will ask you to buy drugs...................your choice. Now if you buy drugs from someone (under cover policeman) you may be arrested because........................................... ........
Your parents told you that drugs are illegal in Indonesia.....before you left Australia
The Australia government told you drugs are illegal in Indonesia.....before you left Australia
On the plane to Indonesia you are told drugs are illegal in Indonesia
And then some pooooooooor tourist buys drugs (under cover policeman) & everyone starts to cry(Australian newspapers), ohhhhhh poor boy cry, cry,cry, this can only happen in Indonesia, "don't you know we are Australian & don't have to be governed by Indonesian laws", what next police stopping you for not wearing a helmet or having a license????????????
Well Indonesia is in big shit NOWWWWWWW because Australia is now sending little kev in, from now on any Australian tourist coming to Bali & buying drugs (under cover policeman) will be safe. Kev is on his way, no more will Indonesian law be dealt out to Aussie tourist, you are all safe NOW.

Hang on a minute
This is all about someone buying illegal Drugs (under cover policeman) & getting arrested OMG. Everyone should stop coming to Bali for holidays, its just not Australian We should be able to go on holidays anywere & buy illegal drugs (under cover policeman), whats the world coming to, I'm shocked

Just saw this posted on another forum about the case: Optus - signon error

AUSTRALIAN police have not attempted to verify the age of a 16-year-old Indonesian boy who has been working alongside sex offenders in a high-security adult jail in Perth.
The Age has confirmed through relatives and school records the boy turned 16 on March 17, meaning under federal government policy he should have been flown home without charge last year.

But federal police, relying on an 80-year-old wrist X-ray technique that has been widely discredited, have charged the boy with people smuggling, which carries a mandatory five years' jail as an adult.

Lawyers say the boy is "spooked" and scared in Hakea adult remand centre in Perth where lawyers say he works in a laundry alongside the sex offenders.

The boy's brother, Heriyandi, told The Age the boy left school at 14 and went to stay in Jakarta with relatives, saying he "wanted to make some money''.

In April last year the boy was found to be a deckhand on a boat carrying 30 asylum seekers that arrived at Ashmore Reef.

spicy...and how does that tie in with the case of the Aussie teen getting caught/setup with a little weed?

it's actually not an undercover cop, but a dealer who has sort of a deal with the cops....pay x amount a month and we don;t bother you...can't pay with money, setup a sucker for us to catch.

I was once approached and offered hash in Kuta, I just turned to the seller and in a loud, staged,voice asked as to whether that was legal or not. I kept asking him as passers by watched. He looked kinda sheepish and obviously just wanted me to move on. I did eventually but not until he was made to feel just a tad prickly. I hate these pushers with a passion but given the stings they set up with undercover police people just have to wise up and realize it's a part and parcel of the life here. Cheers, 'Cam'

spicy...and how does that tie in with the case of the Aussie teen getting caught/setup with a little weed?

Not related to the drug aspect of the story, but the jailing of a minor. I read some comments and stories on other sites saying how wrong it is to jail a minor in an adult prison and it seems quite hypocrtical that Australia is doing the same thing, if of course that story is accurate. Anyway it seems like he is being held at the police station for now and not in a cell with adult prisoners.

oww..I get it now :)

Originally Posted by spicyayam

Not related to the drug aspect of the story, but the jailing of a minor. I read some comments and stories on other sites saying how wrong it is to jail a minor in an adult prison and it seems quite hypocrtical that Australia is doing the same thing, if of course that story is accurate. Anyway it seems like he is being held at the police station for now and not in a cell with adult prisoners.

A close friend of mine is one of the Examples indonesia has made out of Aussies drug trafficking, he is a house hold name. The same kind of rubbihs came out about how it was a set up, he was trapped etc. I love my friend dearly however in the end he wasnt set up, he willingly accepted an offer to traffic drugs back to australia with 8 other people for money and just happened to get caught along the way. Is the death penalty appropriate? I dont think so but this is why i dont traffic heroin.

This kid willingly purchased the weed, no one ever knows who is selling drugs really, its always a secret. Okay you go to your dealer but you never know who your dealer is working for. Its sad, so sad that he is spending his time there however he did do the crime. He accepted, he paid and Im sure he had a big smirk on his face for the next 50 minutes. I hope he does come home in a speedy way so hes not traumatised but has learnt a lesson.

If Australia is going to kick up this big fuss then okay, we need to a. acknowledge that we have 93 juveniles - the youngest being 13 sitting in maximum security jails in W.A who majority of them can only speak Sasak not Indonesian and do not have translators in with them, only for official conversations. They are subjected to cavity searches daily, they are kept in jumpsuits and cable tied around the openings of the jumpsuit to meet with visiotrs, they are housed amongst the general population and are sleeping with adults who do heinous crimes. b. if we know Indonesia's judicial system is terrible for children then we need to make sure any child that is going to be subject to that legal system has the right to a fair trial - Indonesian or western. if it has to be then Australia needs to throw money at that service. Its not right to accept an Indonesian being subject to it but not a precious little white child.

These 93 juveniles in the jails here are in there for being a part of the people smuggling syndicate the government say. They weredeck hands, cooks, cleaners from poor villages and a well known case he was paid 200,000 IDR for the trip. is it fair that i go to jail if my boss is operating an illegal business that I know nothing of?

My thoughts on this are that the kid may have been set up, it happens all the time in Kuta night clubs etc. however, it is against the law in Indonesia so let the law take its path.
Our illustrious Mr Rudd , is doing his usual thing, mouthing off and expecting the whole world to listen....I think he is looking to make a big fella of himself and get some browny points before he takes on Julia aka the ranga to get his job back.
On a more positive note, hopefully some of the students who will decend on poor Bali shortly for schoolies week will take notice of what is happening now and be a bit more sensible when the are there.....but i doubt it!

@soontobeexpat I didn't know about the Indonesian kids in Australian jails until this story broke. At least their case now might some wider recognition.

@goldminer That was exactly my thought when I heard Rudd's speech. I think if the media and the politicians didn't get involved after paying a bit of money the kid would now be back in Australia.

This has turned into an interesting thread. It prompted me to go research indonesian minors in aussie jails. That's pretty disgraceful. I can somewhat understand aussie officials detaining them if no documents were delivered by the indonesian consulate if it was a serious crime, but I don't really reckon working on a boat that people smuggles is up there with violent crime. But then again, I'm not a big fan of Pauline Hansen et al.

As bad as it is though, I think it reflects pretty poorly on thier own country's unwillingness to fight to get them out - but poor villagers with no money to pay don't count I suppose. One of the nice things about being an aussie is the goverment generally WILL go to bat for their own, despite stupidity.

I'm sure Kevin and the boys will get the kid out as now they have to to save face. The kid did a dumb arse thing and does need some consequences, but I'm not sure if 6 years in jail for 7g of pot is quite appropriate.

Or perhaps he won't and the darwin awards can claim another victim. Drugs + indonesia = bad, mkay
/facepalm

If I was an aussie in a jail overseas I think the worst words to hear would be Rudd saying "I'm from the government and I'm here to help". If you look at the past efforts of the aussie government they would be the last people to ask for anything, if you think your in the s**t just ask the government for help and you know you will be. Rudd is only trying to make himself look good and if anything has made the situation worse, aided by the media, that will print just about anything, truth or not. There should be no big stick here just softly softly. This young bloke, like most young aussie's think their fire proof, as has been seen before Indonesian Drug Laws are actually acted on unlike Australia where every one talks about tough drug laws and that it's, they talk. While I have some sympathy for the young man, maybe now he and his mates will realise when you visit another country abide by their laws.