DENPASAR – Indonesian authorities have arrested two Indian nationals after customs officers discovered more than 10 kilograms of suspected cannabis hidden inside children’s toy boxes packed in two suitcases at Bali’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport.

The suspects, identified by their initials AR, 28, and PC, 31, were arrested on Aug. 3 after arriving in Bali on Scoot flight TR280 from Singapore. Police said the pair had travelled from Thailand and posed as a married couple on holiday in an attempt to avoid raising suspicion, although investigators later established they were not husband and wife.

Customs officers became suspicious during routine baggage screening after an X-ray scan revealed unusual images inside the luggage. A subsequent inspection uncovered 100 packages of suspected cannabis concealed inside 14 toy boxes packed into two suitcases.

Authorities said the drugs weighed 10,310 grams gross, or 10,110 grams net, with an estimated value of Rp1.5 billion (about US$92,000).

One suitcase contained 62 packages weighing 6,275 grams net, while the second contained another 38 packages weighing 3,835 grams net.

Ngurah Rai Customs Office chief Wawan Dharmawan said the drugs had been packaged to resemble ordinary personal belongings in an apparent attempt to avoid detection during airport screening.

Police identified the pair as drug couriers. During questioning, investigators said the suspects admitted they had been instructed by a contact in Thailand, who communicated with them by telephone and promised them a combined payment of US$300 for transporting the shipment.

According to police, the suspects were travelling onward to India after transiting through Bali. Investigators are continuing to determine whether the drugs were intended for distribution in Indonesia or another destination.

“They were not actually husband and wife. The male suspect already has a wife,” Ngurah Rai Airport Police chief Sr. Comr. I Made Hendra Agustina told a press conference on Friday.

The suspects have been charged under Indonesia’s Narcotics Law, which carries penalties ranging from lengthy prison terms to life imprisonment or the death penalty for the most serious offences. The investigation is ongoing.