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Hans-Peter “Patrick” Naumann will be released in Bali tomorrow – after almost ten years in prison. The now 57-year-old smuggled cocaine to the Indonesian island in 2014 and was immediately arrested at the airport. Now he has been released on parole, Bild reports.

Naumann tried his luck as a Ballermann singer in Mallorca in the 90s. In 2014 he moved to Thailand and opened a beer garden in Pattaya, which is popular with tourists. That same year he wanted to go on holiday to Bali. An acquaintance found him free accommodation there.

Naumann describes the incident to ‘Bild’ as follows: The evening before departure, they both got drunk when the acquaintance suddenly pulled out a gun and forced Naumann to smuggle 328 grams of cocaine to Bali. He then swallowed ten capsules of cocaine and stuffed another fourteen up his butt. But during the flight he felt pain – he excreted the capsules and hid them in his underpants. After landing he was immediately taken away, had to take off his clothes and was arrested.

Indonesia, which includes Bali, can impose the death penalty for drug smuggling. Naumann was spared this, but he was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Now he is being released on parole after just under ten years.

Daily life in prison

In prison, Naumann was held in a 35 square meter cell together with 26 other prisoners. He told the German “Bild”:

There are 1,400 prisoners in prison, almost 80 percent of them for drug trafficking.

In 2023, Naumann married an Indonesian woman. That was necessary, otherwise he would not be released on parole. He must first stay in Indonesia for a year, then he can return to Germany.

(rbu)