The white powder found on a Perth teenager at a Bali nightclub is not illegal drugs and the 18-year-old should be released as soon as possible, the head of police says.
Jamie Murphy, 18, arrived in Bali on Sunday on what was supposed to be a holiday with friends but by the early hours of Tuesday found himself locked up and accused of possessing a white powder that police suspected was heroin or cocaine.
Chief of Bali police, Inspector Sugeng Priyanto, told AAP that tests done on the powder, as well as a urine test undertaken by the teenager, have come back negative.
"He should be released," he added.
He could not confirm what the substance is, although there has been speculation it is paracetamol.
The Denpasar Police Forensic Laboratory completed the tests on Wednesday morning and handed the results to the drug squad.
Murphy faced a maximum of 12 years in jail if the powder was found to be a prohibited drug.
Kuta police chief Wayan Sumara on Tuesday told reporters Murphy "said he got it from one of the people on the street."
It comes as the Sky Garden nightclub where the teenager was detained by security guards issued a statement saying it wanted to assure Australian parents that the safety of their children was their main priority.
"We are saddened by the incident last night and we want to assure all parents at home in Australia that the safety of their children is our main priority," it said.
Issuing a timeline of events they allege happened, they said a "young man" tried to get inside their nightclub at around 12.45am on Tuesday and that security found white powder inside a 5cm by 5cm plastic satchel within his bum bag.
The nightclub said the young man was taken to the nearest police post and that their security guards were asked to re-enact the events which happened.
"At this time, people from the media were already (there) ... and they recorded the re-enactment."
