Briton faces execution in Bali after record seizure of ecstasy

A Briton is facing a possible death sentence in Bali after being arrested following the island's largest seizure of ecstasy tablets.

Steven Turner, 47, allegedly had more than 8,000 tablets when he was detained on Thursday. Major General Budi Setyawan, the police chief, said he suspected the Londoner had intended to sell the pills to holidaymakers.

Mr Turner was two weeks late in claiming two packages sent by two people in London, raising the suspicions of postal and customs officials, who alerted police. Inside were nearly 6,000 ecstasy tablets hidden in clothing or stashed in plastic bottles.

"When we searched Steven Turner's house, we found another 2,220 pills hidden in the roof. Perhaps he thought we're stupid in that he dared to bring in such illegal drugs," Maj-Gen Setyawan said. "This is the most important arrest for the biggest drug find," he added.

The local police claim the Englishman confessed to owning the pills and they added that, under the country's tough anti-drug laws, he could face execution if convicted.

A spokesman for the British embassy in Jakarta said a man was being detained at police headquarters on Bali after the biggest seizure of the drug on the island. He added: "A British man was arrested for possession of ecstasy pills in the region of about 8,000. It's an incredible amount." Mr Turner's housemate, an unidentified Canadian, has been questioned as a witness.

Mr Turner arrived in Bali on a tourist visa in October, detectives said, the same month that almost 200 people – including more than 20 Britons – were killed in the Kuta Beach bombings.

At least five foreigners are awaiting execution for drugs offences around Indonesia. Earlier this week, a Scottish academic, Lesley McCulloch, 40, began a hunger strike after being given a five-month sentence for visa violations in Indonesia. She was originally accused of spying after she was alleged to have violated her tourist visa by contacting a group of separatist rebels.