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Witness History

The Bali Nine drug smuggling case

Witness History

BBC

History, Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.41.6K Ratings

🗓️ 14 April 2025

⏱️ 10 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In April 2005, nine young Australians were caught trying to smuggle 8.3kg of heroin out of Indonesia.

The Bali Nine, as they became known, faced a maximum sentence of death by firing squad under Indonesia's strict drug laws.

Bishop Tim Harris, who formed a close relationship with one of the Bali Nine families, and visited members of the group in prison has been speaking to Dan Hardoon.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.

Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP.

(Photo: Scott Rush of Brisbane and Andrew Chan of Sydney are walked into the Denpasar District Court on October 13, 2005 in Denpasar, Indonesia. Credit:(Photo by Jason Childs/Getty Images)

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Hi Curios, I'm Dara Brien.

0:03.5

And I'm Hannah Frye.

0:04.5

And we are back for another series of curious cases.

0:07.6

Where we investigate the scientific mysteries sent in by you.

0:10.9

I would like to know if anything in the universe is truly invisible.

0:14.7

Why do we lie?

0:16.1

What happens to our brains when we fall in love?

0:19.2

We tackle the mysteries of the universe through audacious experiments

0:22.0

and expert insight.

0:23.8

Curious cases.

0:24.8

Listen first on BBC Sounds.

0:32.9

You're listening to the Witness History

0:34.9

podcast from the BBC World Service

0:36.9

with me, Dan Hardoon.

0:40.0

I'm taking you back to a notorious drug bust in Bali in April 2005,

0:45.9

where nine young Australians were caught trying to smuggle 8.3 kilograms of heroin out of Indonesia.

0:54.3

The Bali nine, as they became known,

0:56.3

faced the possibility of death by firing squad

0:59.1

under Indonesia's strict drug laws.

1:02.6

I've been speaking to Bishop Tim Harris,

1:05.6

who formed a close bond with one of the Bali Nine families

1:08.4

as they anxiously awaited the fate of their teenage son.

...

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