AUSTRALIAN HELD OVER DRUGS

An Australian man arrested at the weekend in Dili may be the first
foreigner to be brought before an East Timor court on charges of
illegal possession of drugs.

The middle-aged man, whose name has been withheld, was arrested on
Saturday.

UN police acting on a tip-off found up to seven kilograms of a
substance believed to be pre-packaged marijuana at his Dili residence.

Under UN law the man, privately employed in construction, can be held
for up to 48hours before a judge decides whether to remand him in
custody. Australian consular staff in Dili have been advised of the
arrest.

While under UN transitional rule, the East Timor judiciary employs
Indonesian criminal law, which favors stiff jail terms for drugs
trafficking or possession.

UN spokeswoman Barbara Reis said an East Timorese public defender had
been appointed to represent the Australian. An investigating judge was
now looking at the case and would decide by today whether to remand
the man in detention, she said.

It is unclear whether the man was planning to sell the drugs locally
or involved in an illicit export attempt.

The case is bound to capture the attention of East Timorese concerned
about the influence of foreigners on this conservative, Roman
Catholic-dominated society.

Dili's Nobel Laureate Bishop, Carlos Belo, has previously warned
against the corrupting influence of foreigners who arrived to help in
the reconstruction of East Timor after last year's devastating militia
violence.

East Timor does not have a drugs problem, but Australian police and
customs officials are concerned that, given its close proximity to
Australia, the half-island territory could serve as a conduit for the
illegal importation of drugs.