A Frenchman who served 18 years in custody for smuggling drugs into Bali was deported Saturday in a case that sparked outrage in his native country over Indonesia's tough narcotics laws. Police arrested Michael Blanc on the day after Christmas in 1999 at the tropical island's airport with 3.8 kilogrammes (8.4 pounds) of hashish hidden inside scuba diving canisters.
The now 45-year-old was originally given a life term - narrowly escaping the death sentence handed to some other foreign drug traffickers, including two members of the notorious Bali Nine who were executed in 2015. Blanc's prison term was later cut to 20 years and then in 2014 he won something that few foreigners get in Indonesia - parole.