An Australian man has gone on trial in an Indonesian court for possessing methamphetamine and ecstasy and faces possible life imprisonment if convicted.
Isaac Emmanuel Roberts was arrested at Bali's Ngurah Rai airport on December 4 after arriving from Bangkok. Customs officers seized 14.3 grams of crystal methamphetamine and 14 ecstasy tablets from his luggage.
His trial began on Monday at the District Court in Denpasar, Bali's capital. Prosecutors say Roberts violated anti-narcotics laws. If found guilty, he could face from four years to life in prison and a fine of at least $A5600.
The 35-year-old accountant earlier confessed to being a drug user but denied being a dealer.
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Roberts was the Liberal Democratic Party's candidate for the federal seat of Higgins in Melbourne in 2009 after former Liberal treasurer Peter Costello resigned from parliament. He received only 336 votes in the by-election, which was won by LIberal Kelly O'Dwyer.
He also won the National Advanced Tax Dux Award in 2012 but was reprimanded and fined $3100 by Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand in 2015 after failing to reply to correspondence.
His social media accounts show he is a gym fan who regularly visits Bali and Thailand.
Indonesia has very strict drug laws and convicted traffickers can be executed by a firing squad. More than 150 people are on death row, mostly for drug crimes, and about a third of them are foreigners.
Eighteen people convicted of drug-related offences have been executed under current President Joko Widodo, including Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran.
