Bali Police Release Perth Teenager After 'Drugs' Turn Out to Be Painkillers

18-year-old Perth school leaver Jamie Murphy has been released following his arrest in Bali for possessing a suspicious white powder. Kuta police chief Wayan Sumara confirmed that the powder was not an illicit drug, but rather a mix of "acetaminophen [a pain killer], two types of cough medicine, and caffeine".

The teenager will no doubt be immensely relieved—if the white powder had been cocaine or heroin, he was facing a maximum 12-year sentence in a local prison. While under investigation, Murphy was held in a police station and subjected to a blood and urine test. Results for those tests came back as negative.

News of the teenager's arrest broke on Tuesday, prompting Foreign Minister Julie Bishop to issue a statement warning Australian teenagers to be more careful overseas. Representatives from the Australian consulate visited Murphy at the police station, and his concerned parents also flew to Indonesia to be with their son.

It's unclear how or why Murphy came into possession of the (apparently legal) drugs in the first place. Murphy's lawyer Made Suarjana, as well as his fellow school leavers who were also holidaying in Bali, allege that the teenager was set up by security guards at the Sky Garden nightclub where he was arrested.

Suarjana told Fairfax that Murphy did not purchase the white powder, and that it appeared "like magic" when night club security guards searched him. "Suddenly the item was just there," Suarjana said. He also said that the teenager had trouble recollecting the incident in full because he was panicked and surprised. Another lawyer representing the teenager, Desi Widyantari, said Murphy was drunk at the point of arrest.

Local police however allege that Murphy purchased the white substance from a local street vendor, assuming them to be something a little more fun than painkillers and cough medicine.

Interestingly, VICE hung out with an Indonesian guy making fake ecstasy out of legal pharmaceuticals back in 2013.

Sumara took the opportunity to warn other teenagers to learn a lesson from Murphy's arrest. "Of course I hope for everyone who comes to Kuta, whether domestic or foreign, don't try drugs. If someone offers you drugs, don't," he told the ABC.

He made a point of singling out schoolies, too. "Otherwise Indonesian police, especially Kuta police, will process you according to Indonesian laws—especially for, my friends, schoolies."

"But the police always try to do the best for foreigners, especially Australians," he added.

Whatever happened, Murphy's arrest is a rare example of how sometimes being sold fake cocaine can turn out for the best.