Peruvian woman arrested in Bali for smuggling drugs in sex toy

A Peruvian woman has been accused of attempting to smuggle $70,000-worth (£52,000) of cocaine and ecstasy into Bali, concealed in her underwear and a sex toy.

The woman, who was only identified by the initials N.S., was stopped by customs officials who felt she was acting oddly, police said.

"The narcotics were hidden in six plastic packages wrapped in black duct tape inside a green bra, three similar packages in black underwear, and a sex toy containing drugs, which was inserted into her body," Radiant, Bali police's narcotics unit director, who goes by one name, told reporters.

The 42-year-old has been charged under Indonesia's drug laws, and if found guilty could face the death penalty.

Radiant said that 1.4kg (3.1lb) of cocaine and 43 ecstasy pills were found in total.

He added that the woman revealed she had been paid $19,000 to smuggle the drugs into Bali by someone she met on the dark web in April.

She took a flight from Barcelona, Spain, to the Indonesian island with a stopover in Doha, police said, arriving at the international airport on 12 August.

The woman was arrested shortly after being stopped at the airport, when customs officials alerted police.

Indonesia is known for the severe punishments it hands out for drug smuggling and has previously executed foreigners, but has upheld a temporary halt on the death sentence since 2017.

Last month, three British nationals avoided the death penalty after they were found guilty of smuggling cocaine disguised as packets of Angel Delight into Indonesia.