An Argentine tourist, identified by the initials GE, was arrested by Customs officers at the international arrivals terminal of I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport, Bali. The 46-year-old woman was apprehended for attempting to smuggle cocaine.
Ngurah Rai Customs Public Relations Officer, Bowo Pramoedito, revealed that officers caught GE carrying the illicit white powder, which had been packed using duct tape and condoms. Officers confirmed that the white powder was cocaine.
“The smuggling method used was vaginal insertion, where narcotics were hidden in the genitals,” said Bowo in a written statement received by detikBali on Wednesday, 26th March 2025.
Seized 323.76 Grams of Cocaine
Ngurah Rai Customs Office in Badung Regency, Bali, successfully foiled the smuggling attempt of 323.76 grams of cocaine by a foreign national from Argentina.
“For now, the evidence and the Argentine national have been handed over to the Bali Provincial National Narcotics Agency (BNNP),” said Bowo.
He explained that the perpetrator, a woman with the initials GE, had carried the narcotics by wrapping them in a condom and glueing them with duct tape.
Officers arrested GE shortly after she landed at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport, Badung Regency, from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Tuesday, 25th March, at around 18:00 WITA.
Bowo explained that GE was secured by officers at around 18:00 WITA on Tuesday, 25th March 2025. The woman from Argentina had previously flown from Dubai and landed at Ngurah Rai Airport aboard Emirates flight EK368.
When checking her luggage and conducting a thorough search of GE’s body, officers became suspicious after finding a strange object in her genitals. The object was a condom wrapped in duct tape.
He explained that the discovery was based on intelligence analysis and surveillance of passengers arriving from a foreign airline in the Middle East.
Officers needed time to conduct an in-depth investigation before releasing the case to the media.
“After laboratory testing, the powder was confirmed as narcotics class I cocaine,” he added.
Following further information and analysis, Bowo mentioned that officers found indications of the involvement of other parties in the smuggling attempt.
The Argentine tourist was strongly suspected of meeting with a person in Bali who was likely the recipient of the narcotics.
In response to this information, a joint team of Ngurah Rai Customs and the Bali National Narcotics Agency (BNNP) will conduct further operations to uncover the narcotics network.
Based on the results of the examination, GE, who works as a hairdresser, admitted to Customs officers that she had come to Bali alone to deliver a package of narcotics obtained in Mexico and was promised a reward of 3,000 US dollars.
