Australia Defends Decision Not to Arrest Drug Dealers Executed in Indonesia

Australian federal police defended their decision not to arrest the Bali Nine drug traffickers who were executed in Indonesia last week.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Speaking at a news conference on Monday, Commissioner Andrew Colvin said that the Australian police did not have any information on the gang prior to their arrest by the Indonesian authorities in 2005, including information about the organizers and the group's plans.

Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, members of the Bali Nine group, were executed in Indonesia last week alongside six other men after being convicted of drug-related offenses.

Australian police have faced widespread criticism for not arresting the gang in Australia. Instead they tipped off the Indonesian authorities about the drug traffickers in 2005, which exposed the traffickers to the possibility of being sentenced to death.

“We were not in the position to arrest any members of the Bali Nine prior to their departure to Australia,” the police commissioner told at a press conference on Monday.

The Bali Nine group were arrested in 2005 when they attempted to smuggle 18 pounds of heroin out of Indonesia to Australia. The execution of the men by Indonesian authorities has drawn strong international criticism, including from the UN Human Rights Office, which called it an "incomprehensible" move.

Following the incident, Australia recalled its ambassador to Indonesia.