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Alberto drove his first car, with 4.5 kilos of blow in the door, to a café. He sat at a window table, ordered coffee and watched to see if anyone had followed. Once confident the coast was clear, he was set to commence his mission.

I start putting myself in 007 mode. An hour before the deal, I drove to that supermarket, parked the car, and changed into another shirt, put a cap on, different sunglasses, and then I took out the coke, put in my backpack, went to the new car and drove out. If anybody saw me drive in, they wouldn’t notice me drive out in the other car with black windows, cap on, big sunglasses and different shirt. It was just like taking an extra precaution — 007 mode.

Alberto drove to the designated spot in Canggu, parking behind the buyer’s car. Both got out, exchanged hellos, then each asked if they had the stuff. It was breaking the rules, exchanging cash for drugs directly, but Alberto felt safe. In unison, they walked to their cars, grabbed their backpacks, and then walked back and switched the bags on the side of the road, with a clear view of the ocean and setting sun. ‘So it’s all here?’ Alberto asked.

‘Yeah, it’s all there,’ the buyer replied, then asked the same.

‘Yes, all there.’ They each put the bags in their cars, without even a cursory look inside.

I could have put bags of sand, and he could have put bags of paper. It’s very hard, you know, just based on trust.

The two men shook hands, looking one another in the eye, intense, loaded looks that said, ‘Okay, I’m trusting you’, without words but speaking volumes, both aware it was a big $200,000 of trust. Then they got in their cars and drove off.