A jet-setting Australian father of two, who was spending a luxurious honeymoon with his new wife since their wedding last year, now faces a permanent booking in Bali’s most famous prison, nicknamed the Hotel Kerobokan.
Troy Smith, 49, faces life in prison in Indonesia after being charged with drug possession and trafficking following a police raid on his Bali hotel room on April 30.
Officers allegedly found more than 3 grams of methamphetamine in a toothpaste tube, a bong, and 0.04 grams of methamphetamine in a sunglasses case.
Smith, originally from Port Lincoln in South Australia but who had been living in Cairns, is currently being held in a cramped concrete cell at police headquarters in Denpasar, with no guest privileges and only a bucket to use as a toilet.
Just a few weeks ago he was enjoying a globe-trotting life as a newlywed, having married his wife Tracy Ijusa after they met on Tinder.
Troy Smith, 49, has been charged with drug possession and trafficking after police raided his hotel room in Bali on April 30. He is pictured with his wife Tracy Ijusa.
He popped the question in Bali in October and the couple tied the knot at the end of December in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, where Ijusa is originally from.
Photos from the day show the couple in love at the Lenana Mount Hotel, while other photos show them visiting the Masai Mara National Reserve wildlife conservation park.
The couple then returned to Bali, with snaps showing the pair enjoying time on the Indonesian island from February.
One of the images shows the newlyweds at the Hard Rock Café in Kuta, while others captured them lounging at a resort pool and celebrating at a beach party.
In a caption of the couple’s photo, Ijusa, who describes herself as a fashion blogger and Instagram model, wrote: “My favorite place in the world is next to you.”
Smith had struggled with alcoholism early in his life, which caused his children to cut off contact with him and his marriage to break up.
He said his world changed after meeting Ijusa.
The couple married at the end of December and have been on vacation ever since.
The couple is seen at a beach party in Bali before Smith’s arrest.
“You just think life is over, you’ve had this and not much is going to happen, you just wander around and die peacefully at 75, accomplishing nothing, no motivation, nothing exciting in the latter part of your life.” ” he said in a TikTok that he has since deleted.
“But now I love life, this girl gives me motivation to do everything.”
Luxury living and hotel pools now seem like a distant memory for Smith, who faces a life sentence in the prison where Schapelle Corby and the Bali Nine served time.
The prison was dubbed Hotel Kerobokan by author Kathryn Bonella, who spent countless hours inside the nightmarish facility investigating how it is run and the shocking scenes that unfolded behind closed doors.
Murderers and rapists are housed alongside low-level thieves and tourists hit by a few ecstasy pills, Bonella wrote in his book Hotel Kerobokan: The Shocking Inside Story of Bali’s Most Notorious Jail.
Ms Ijusa has been regularly sharing snaps of her and Smith on holiday in Bali.
The couple is seen visiting a wildlife conservation park in Nairobi.
The prison has tennis courts, temples and a well-tended garden, while inmates with money could pay to be placed in a better cell.
Inmates can even pay guards to deliver pizzas, let them out on field trips, order sex workers and even drugs.
Bonella, who spent time with Corby while she was locked up, said the former beautician had paid $100 to be locked in a less crowded cell, away from predatory inmates.
Sex is also rife in the prison and Bonella details several confrontational incidents he witnessed, and “sex nights” organized by corrupt guards where the prison was turned into a brothel and inmates could pay for some intimacy.
He saw an inmate being masturbated by his partner while holding his newborn baby over his groin.
Mrs Ijusa is seen trying to meet her husband at the Denpasar police headquarters.
Smith had been on holiday with his wife of four months, Tracy Ijusa (pictured), when police raided their room at the Champlung Mas hotel in Legian on April 30.
He also remembers seeing a member of the Bali Nine often “entangled” with his fiancé while his mother sat next to him.
‘It was not unusual to see girls straddling boys’ laps on the floor. It looked like sex and it was.
Dangerous gangs also fill the prison and cells can be overcrowded with dozens of inmates, while suicides and murders are not out of the ordinary.
Meanwhile, Smith has hired prominent “fixer” John McCleod of consultancy Tora Solutions to launch his own investigation.
McCleod helped free Corby from Kerobokan prison in 2014 after she was charged with drug trafficking.
Smith’s lawyers say the 49-year-old had purchased methamphetamine in Bali and was struggling with addiction.
They argued that it would be better to place their client in a halfway house than in a cell, allowing Smith to avoid prison altogether.
Police allegedly found 3.14g of methamphetamine hidden in a tube of Colgate toothpaste that had been sent to Smith from Cairns, in a package that was labeled as containing private documentation, photographs and lubricant.
Police allegedly found another 0.4g of drugs that had been bought in Bali, along with a water pipe and a lighter.
Pictured are inmates at the infamous Kerobokan Penitentiary in Bali, Indonesia, where Smith faces life in prison.
Smith was initially charged with drug possession, which carries a maximum sentence of 12 years, but was later charged with drug trafficking, which can result in offenders being sentenced to life in prison in Indonesia.
Outside a police news conference on Monday, one of Smith’s lawyers, Sienny Karmana, said his client had tried to evade arrest “because he was afraid,” and police fired two warning shots into the air before he was detained.
“The police said he tried to run away, but the police caught him. They fired shots in the air, he was shocked and then he fell and then the police caught him,” he said.
Smith’s lawyers said the package of drugs was sent to him by a friend as a thank you for helping with the purchase of a car, and Smith did not know what was in it.
Mrs Ijusa attempted to visit her husband in custody on Monday but was rebuffed.
She was also arrested after the hotel room raid, but was released without charge and remained in Bali to support her husband.
It is understood Smith’s relatives flew to the Indonesian country last week.
He is due to appear in court next month.
