📸 Photo

DARK PARADISE

heads’, paying cash for tip-offs – especially to catch a westerner, their prize target – and then kicking in doors.

It was not just about cleaning up drugs in Bali; far from it. That had been the catalyst, but the crackdown and tougher sentences suddenly created a shiny new business, producing a torrential cash flow making some Balinese richer overnight than in their wildest dreams. Westerners living and partying in Bali had previously understood that, if busted with a user amount, they could buy a ‘get out of jail free card’ for between $1000 or $2000. Now, if caught with a joint or a few ecstasy pills at home, the fee to avoid the problem leaving your lounge room had jumped to between $30,000 and $50,000. Police, whose average wage was less than $200 a month, were winning the lottery just by kicking in doors.

There was all the police force running around like crazy, just trying to arrest as many people as possible. Everyone was like, okay, the ‘arrest race’ has started, they are going for everyone, they are just arresting people, every single day you would hear stories, ‘Oh, someone else got busted.’ So there was a time they started competing; there was a lot of competition between the narcotics teams. The ones that bust the most are the ones that make more money, that is a fact.

– Alberto

Was like very good business – don't have any cost, police just kick some door and go out with $50,000 easy money. Good business. If you don't pay, you stay. Shit.

– Rafael