American Man Faces 15 Years in Jail Over Marijuana Edibles in Bali

A 21-year-old American student has been arrested and may face a sentence of 15 years in prison for smuggling “space cakes” — cakes or brownies laced with marijuana — in Bali, Indonesia.

Details of arrest: Josue Omar Perez Del Valle, an American university student, is accused of attempting to receive a package from the United States that contained brownies laced with cannabis, according to The Bali Sun.

The man was arrested on June 25.
Details of his arrest were announced by the National Anti-Narcotics Agency (BNNP) on August 4, Bali Discovery reported.
“This was a traditional cake from the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico,” BNNP head of enforcement I Putu Agus Arjaya told the media. “The cake contained marijuana. It was made in the form of a cake because the defendant knows marijuana is illegal in Indonesia. The net weight of the cake was 130 grams. The cake was made by the defendant’s family and sent to Bali.”
Del Valle admitted to authorities that the chocolate space cakes were for personal use. Police also found no evidence to suggest the involvement of other people in the smuggling.
“He has explained that he has been a user of marijuana for the past two years,” Anjaya said.

Further information: Del Valle has been living in Bali for the past six months doing an internship on learning how to create items using bamboo.

Del Valle is being charged under the National Anti-Narcotic Law Number 35 of 2007.
If he is found guilty, he may face a wide range of sentences, including rehabilitation, fines ranging from 800 million Indonesian Rupiah ($54,822) to 8 billion Indonesian Rupiah ($548,224) and a prison term of four years to life imprisonment.

Feature Image via Radar Bali

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