Arrested for Drugs in Bali: What Happens Next, Step by Step

By Jeremy Jordan, S.H. — licensed Indonesian advocate (advokat), DPN Indonesia, NIA 25.25.32730 · Reviewed 9 October 2026

First: the law changed on 2 January 2026

If you are reading this because someone you love has been detained in Bali, start here. On 2 January 2026 Indonesia replaced both its Criminal Code (Law 1/2023, the new KUHP) and its Code of Criminal Procedure (Law 20/2025, the new KUHAP). A third law that took effect the same day — Law 1/2026 on the Adjustment of Criminal Penalties — rewrote the drug penalties. Much of what is still online describes the old system.

• Possessing, storing or supplying non-plant drugs, and producing, importing, exporting or distributing them, are now offences in the new Criminal Code itself (Articles 609 and 610). The matching old articles of the Narcotics Law (Law 35/2009, Articles 112, 113, 117, 118, 122 and 123) were revoked (KUHP Article 622(1)(w), as amended by Law 1/2026).
• Other drug offences — dealing, cannabis and other narcotics in plant form, and personal use — remain in the Narcotics Law, with their penalties adjusted by Law 1/2026.
• The adjusted provisions set maximum sentences but no longer set minimum prison terms; fines became "and/or" rather than automatic (Law 1/2026, Article I(1), the new Articles 609–610 and Attachment II).
• Timing matters. If the act happened before 2 January 2026, the new law applies unless the old one is more favourable to the accused (KUHP Article 3(1)); and a case already under investigation or prosecution on that date continues under the old procedure code (KUHAP Article 361).

Arrest and the first days in custody

Drug cases are investigated by the National Police or by the National Narcotics Agency, BNN (Law 35/2009, Article 81). The first days follow fixed rules:

• An arrest normally lasts at most 24 hours, unless another law provides otherwise (KUHAP Article 96). The Narcotics Law does: BNN investigators may arrest for up to 3 × 24 hours, extendable by a further 3 × 24 hours (Law 35/2009, Article 76).
• A copy of the arrest warrant must reach the family, or a person the suspect names, within one day of the arrest (KUHAP Article 95(3)). Someone caught in the act can be arrested without a warrant (Article 95(4)).
• Detention after arrest is generally allowed only for offences carrying five years or more (Article 100(1)–(2)), on at least two lawful items of evidence plus one of the grounds the law lists, such as an attempt to flee or to destroy evidence (Article 100(5)). A copy of the detention order must reach the family within one day (Article 100(4)).
• At the investigation stage, detention is limited to 20 days, extendable by the prosecutor by up to 40 days; after that the suspect must be released (Article 102). Later stages have their own limits — see below.

The rights of a foreign suspect

The new procedure code lists the rights of every suspect in one place (KUHAP Article 142). For a foreigner, these matter most:

• To be told clearly, in a language they understand, what they are suspected of, and to be told their rights (Article 142(c)–(d)).
• To give, or to refuse to give, a statement about the accusation (Article 142(e)). Asking calmly for a lawyer and an interpreter before answering is a lawful use of that right.
• To an interpreter at any time (Article 142(f)). If the suspect does not give their statement in Indonesian, the investigator must appoint a translator, who signs the statement (Article 34(3)–(4)). Do not sign a record of examination (BAP) that you have not had translated and do not understand.
• To contact, communicate with and be visited by their country's representative, and to name a country's representative to be contacted (Article 142(h)–(i)). When a foreigner is formally named a suspect, the notice goes to their country's representative (Article 90(5)).
• To choose and be accompanied by a lawyer at every examination (Article 142(b)); a lawyer may contact and visit the suspect from the moment of arrest or detention, at every stage and at any time (Article 150(b)). Where the charge carries death, life or 15 years or more, the officials handling the case must appoint an advocate for the suspect at every stage (Article 155(1)).
• To be visited by a doctor and by family, and to be free from torture, intimidation and degrading treatment (Article 142(j), (l) and (q)).

The assessment: user, addict or dealer?

Indonesian law treats people who use drugs differently from people who supply them. The Narcotics Law says addicts and victims of drug abuse must undergo medical and social rehabilitation (Law 35/2009, Article 54).

The mechanism that sorts the two is an Integrated Assessment Team (Tim Asesmen Terpadu), set up under a 2014 joint regulation of the Supreme Court, the Attorney General, the Police, BNN and the health, social affairs and law ministries. The team combines doctors and a psychologist with a legal team from the police, BNN, the prosecution and the law and human rights ministry (Article 8). At the investigator's request it analyses whether the person is a victim of abuse, an addict or a dealer, and recommends treatment (Article 9). Its conclusion is due within six days of the investigator's request (Article 4(5)).

• A suspect with an assessment may be placed in a medical or social rehabilitation facility while the case runs (Article 3(5)); one who also deals stays in a detention centre, where rehabilitation may still be given (Article 5(1)).
• The joint regulation predates the new procedure code. It is still listed as in force, but how each agency applies it in 2026 is a matter of practice — which is why counsel should raise the assessment early rather than wait for it.

Use, possession or dealing — why the charge matters

The same small bag can be charged in very different ways, and the gap between them is measured in years. In broad terms, under the provisions in force since 2 January 2026:

• Personal use (Narcotics Law Article 127): at most 4 years for Group I drugs, 2 years for Group II and 1 year for Group III. The judge must take the rehabilitation rules into account, and a user proven to be a victim of abuse must undergo rehabilitation (Article 127(2)–(3)).
• Possessing, storing, controlling or supplying non-plant drugs (KUHP Article 609, as amended): for Group I, up to 12 years and/or a fine; above 5 grams, life or up to 20 years. Cannabis and other Group I narcotics in plant form are covered by a separate article of the Narcotics Law (Article 111).
• Offering, selling, buying, receiving or brokering Group I drugs (Narcotics Law Article 114, as adjusted): life or up to 20 years; above the statutory weight thresholds the death penalty is also available.
• Producing, importing, exporting or distributing (KUHP Article 610, as amended): for Group I, up to 15 years; above 5 grams (or, in plant form, above 1 kilogram or more than five plants), death, life or up to 20 years.

Because possession is a separate offence carrying heavier penalties than personal use, the evidence that shows which one fits — the amount, laboratory results, the assessment, messages — shapes the whole case. The new code's restorative-justice route is closed to drug offences, except where the person's status is that of a user or abuser, and even then its other conditions must be met (KUHAP Article 82(i)).

Prosecution and trial

Drug cases are given priority over other cases for trial (Law 35/2009, Article 74(1)). The district court where the offence is alleged to have happened hears the case (KUHAP Article 165(1)); the Denpasar District Court regularly hears narcotics cases arising in Bali. Detention continues under separate limits at each stage:

• Prosecution: 20 days, extendable by the court chair by up to 30 (Article 103).
• District court trial: 30 days, extendable by up to 60 (Article 104). Appeal to the High Court and cassation to the Supreme Court each carry 30 days plus up to 60 (Articles 105–106).
• For offences carrying 9 years or more — which covers many possession and supply charges — each stage can be extended twice more by up to 30 days (Article 107). In no case may time in detention exceed the maximum sentence for the offence (Article 109(2)).
• A suspect or defendant may ask for detention to be suspended, with or without a money or personal guarantee; it is a request the investigator, prosecutor or judge may grant, not a right to release (Article 110).

Sentence, rehabilitation and the most serious charges

A judge trying an addict may order treatment through rehabilitation if the addict is found guilty, or order it even where the addict is not found guilty; time in treatment after a guilty verdict counts as time served (Law 35/2009, Article 103).

The Supreme Court's Circular 4/2010 tells judges the situations in which that rehabilitation order fits: the defendant was caught in the act; the amount found was a one-day supply (for example, 1 gram of methamphetamine or 5 grams of cannabis); a laboratory test was positive; a government psychiatrist appointed by the judge has given a statement; and there is no evidence of involvement in trafficking. The judge must name the rehabilitation facility in the judgment; accredited private facilities are at the defendant's own cost.

• The death penalty remains in the law for the gravest offences, such as large-scale supply, but the new Criminal Code treats it as an alternative and a last resort (KUHP Article 98). As amended by Law 1/2026, a death sentence is imposed with a 10-year probation period, during which it cannot be carried out; if the convicted person shows commendable conduct, it is converted to life imprisonment by presidential decree after the Supreme Court's consideration (Articles 99(1) and 100).
• A foreigner who has served a sentence for a drug offence is expelled from Indonesia and barred from returning (Law 35/2009, Article 146).

What family abroad should do first

• Find out who holds the person — BNN or the police — and where. The family is entitled to copies of the arrest warrant and the detention order within one day of each (KUHAP Articles 95(3) and 100(4)).
• Contact your country's embassy or consulate. The suspect has the right to contact it and receive its visits (Article 142(h)–(i)).
• Instruct a licensed Indonesian advocate (advokat) early; counsel may see the suspect from the moment of arrest (Article 150(b)).
• Tell counsel about any prescription medicine or medical condition — the suspect has the right to be seen by a doctor (Article 142(j)).
• Do not discuss the facts of the case by message or on social media, and do not post about it.
• Never pay anyone who offers to "fix" the case. Giving a gift or promise to an official because of their office is itself a crime (KUHP Article 606, as amended). This firm does not offer, arrange or pass on any payment to officials.

The honest take

Indonesian drug penalties remain severe, and every outcome turns on the facts, the evidence and the amounts involved. No lawyer can promise release, rehabilitation or a particular sentence, and anyone who does is selling something that is not theirs to sell. What counsel can do is make sure the rights above are used from the first day, that every deadline is counted and enforced, that the assessment and the evidence are tested, and that the family understands each step. The 2026 codes are new and are still being tested before the Constitutional Court, so the position is re-checked for each case rather than taken from a page like this.

General information only, not legal advice for your situation. No result is guaranteed. Speak to a lawyer about your specific facts.