Brits held with cocaine in Bali

(From left) Paul Beales, Rachel Dougal, Nanda Gophal and Julian Ponder, at a police news conference in Bali. Photograph: Reuters

One of the Britons arrested over an alleged plot to smuggle £1.6m of cocaine into Bali has suggested he was set up by the British woman accused of bringing the drugs on to the island.

Four Britons – Lindsay Sandiford, Julian Ponder, Rachel Dougall and Paul Beales – were arrested by Indonesian police after customs officials allegedly found 4.8kg (10.5lbs) of the drug in Sandiford's suitcase as she arrived on a flight from Thailand.

Sandiford, originally from Redcar, Teesside, is thought to have told police she only agreed to make the smuggling trip because her children in England were being threatened. The other Britons were detainedalong with an Indian national, Nanda Gophal, after Sandiford agreed to take part in a police sting operation.

According to customs officials Sandiford, 55, may be spared the death sentence her co-accused face if convicted because she co-operated with police. Ponder and Dougall, a couple with a six-year-old daughter, Kitty, have accused the Indonesian authorities of a "fit-up", while Beales has also insisted he is innocent.

Ponder's lawyer said his client understood that he was meeting Sandiford to collect presents for his daughter, who had turned six a day before, and had no idea that the packages contained drugs. His lawyer told ITV News: "Julian Ponder believes, you know, 100% that he was trapped by Lindsay [Sandiford]", adding that Ponder did not touch or accept the packages.

According to the Sun, Ponder believed the gift-wrapped packages of cocaine were sweets for Kitty as they bore the message "Enjoy sweet candy".

Speaking from his holding cell, Beales told ITV News he was supposed to pick up Sandiford, adding that he did not believe her claims she was forced to smuggle cocaine into Bali because her children were being threatened. He has also accused her of telling lies "so she can save her own skin". ITV News reported that police have 60 days before they have to hand over their files to prosecutors.

The Foreign Office, meanwhile, has said British officials are helping the girl as well as the arrested Britons.

"We are aware of the daughter of Rachel Dougall," said a spokesman. "Consular officials from the consulate in Bali have visited the daughter and will continue to provide consular assistance."

Indonesian officials, who accuse the five of involvement in "an international network controlled from abroad", paraded them before the media at a press conference over the weekend.

Sandiford appeared wearing an orange prison T-shirt while a customs official cut open packages wrapped in brown tape to reveal a white powder. The others had their faces hidden behind black balaclavas and were wearing prison jumpsuits and flip-flops.

Such treatment has prompted concerns about the legal process they will face. On Wednesday a legal charity expressed "deep concerns" about their welfare and fears over any forthcoming trial.

"It is very hard to reconcile the image of those arrested being paraded in prison suits with the presumption of innocence before trial," said Jago Russell, chief executive of Fair Trials International. "We have deep concerns for their welfare given Indonesia's human rights record and are in contact with the Foreign Office to discuss the case."

Indonesia has strict drug laws and convicted smugglers are executed. More than 140 people are on death row, a third of them foreigners.

However, the investigating agencies, so far, has not been able to get much details about him and have contacted the Indian police.
The information that percolated to the police in Himachal related to thearrest in Bali reveals that Lindsay, a mother of two children, had moved to India five years ago and settled down in Kullu with one of the villagers in Parvati valley in Kullu.

The village where Lindsay lived is uphill Kasol, famous with foreign visitors.
Kasol village, situated in the remote Parvati valley, is an example of the socio-economic transformation the area has undergone. Today the entire Parvati valley has become the axis of cannabis trade in the country.

Lindsay had told the Investigators that she lived in the mountains in Kullu. Lindsay had described that her house was made half of mud brick and stones.The Hindustan Times has reliably learnt that Lindsay had told the sleuths that her local boyfriend and his father and brother had helped her to construct a house which was situated close to a river.

It is reliably learnt that British investigating agencies and the Indonesian police have sought more details about the women's connection with the Kullu valley.
The foreign sleuths have asked the Indian investigators to provide more details of the woman and her partner.

Though investigations are being kept under wraps but the sleuths are suspecting that Lindsay's partner, now in Kullu, was at the airport in Indonesia when she was arrested.Investigations are now focused on how the woman was running her drug trade in the remote village. The police are now also trying to figure out whether Lindsay is part of the international drug cartel that is active in Kullu valley for the past four decades.

One can imagine the involvement of foreigners in drug trade from the Kullu police data. This year alone, till far the police have arrested 34 persons in connection with the drug trade of which 12 include foreign national including three British nationals.

The hybrid cannabis strains found in Kullu are being smuggled to the countries where there is demand for charas and hash oil.The marijuana seeds found in Kullu have been crossbred with other varieties which have high resin contents. These varieties are being sold under different brands such as Skunk, Red Hair, Turbo Diesel, Early Girl, White Widow, flower power, Morning California, Haze Skunks etc.

The Parvati and Manikaran valleys are hub of charas cultivation. Cheap Nepali labour is available to make things easier as villages such as Malana, Kasol and Tosh compete for higher production. Like Goa, Delhi and Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh has also turned into a major attraction for foreign tourists. However, tourist influx in Himachal owes more to narcotic nexus than to the outstanding geography, people and culture.