Shampoo bottles from Brazil hide one of Bali's largest liquid cocaine hauls in years

A 36-year-old Brazilian woman is being held in Bali on suspicion of smuggling more than 3.6 kg of liquid cocaine into Indonesia in shampoo and body care bottles, police said.

Customs officers and Bali Police narcotics investigators detained her at around 6 p.m. on Oct. 6 in the international arrivals terminal of I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport, shortly after she arrived from Brazil, state news agency Antara reported. Police have identified her only by the initials TCDS.

Customs officers had flagged her suitcase, and a joint search in her presence turned up seven bottles holding a liquid suspected to be cocaine, Bali Police spokesman Ariasandy said in a statement.

Police put the liquid's gross weight at 3,659.9 grams and called the haul one of the largest liquid cocaine seizures in Bali in recent years.

"We are committed to ensuring there is no room for illicit drug trafficking in the Bali region," Ariasandy, who like many Indonesians uses only one name, told AFP.

The woman told police that a handler based in Brazil, identified only by the initial G, had promised her $50,000 to deliver the liquid cocaine to a contact in Bali who also worked for G, Kompas reported.

Investigators said she had also been promised accommodation and transport, with a flight out of Brazil booked for Oct. 5 and a return for Nov. 3.

Police have named her a suspect and are holding her at the Bali Police detention center while the investigation continues, Ariasandy said.

She is being investigated under Articles 609(2) and 610(2) of Indonesia's Criminal Code, which cover possession and import of Class I narcotics, the category that includes cocaine. Ariasandy said the offenses carry a possible sentence of life in prison.

The text of Article 610(2), which applies to importing more than 5 grams of a non-plant Class I narcotic, also lists the death penalty and prison terms of up to 20 years among possible sentences.

A Brazilian suspect sits behind the shampoo and body care bottles that Bali police say held liquid cocaine. Photo courtesy of Bali Police

Rina Isriana Dewi, who heads the public information unit of the Bali Police public relations division, said investigators were still tracing the suppliers behind the shipment and its final destination, Antara reported.

Indonesia has some of the world's toughest drug laws, including the death penalty for traffickers, and dozens of foreigners are on death row for drug offenses, AFP reported. The country has not carried out an execution since 2016, when four people convicted of drug crimes were put to death by firing squad.

Its new Criminal Code, in force since Jan. 2, keeps capital punishment but adds a 10-year probation period after which a death sentence can be reduced to life or 20 years in prison, the AP reported.