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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First, thank you to all the people who spoke to me; sharing details of their lives and giving me unique material to paint a picture of Bali’s drug underworld.

Special thanks to the charismatic Rafael, who revealed deeply personal and graphic details, much of which he’s now ashamed of – although he still gets excited with a sparkle in his eye as he relives the moments. Like most of the dealers I interviewed, Rafael had never spoken to anybody about much of what he was telling me.

Thanks to Andre and Alberto for the long days of compelling interviews, and to Marco who I talked to in jail several times and spoke to on the phone regularly for months. I hope he is freed one day – as is his belief. He divides opinion among those who know him, but the one thing everyone agrees on is that he is a very funny guy. He often made me laugh. Amazing, considering his situation.

Thanks to Chino, who I tracked down on trial in another country where he’s facing mandatory death if convicted of the drugs charges against him. When Chino first saw me walk into the courtroom, he later told me, that he thought I was with Interpol. But, I explained I was a journalist, writing a book, and had flown in especially to see him and his reply was, ‘I’m honoured’. I had lunch with him a couple of times at court, and visited him in jail. He was very polite and friendly, almost always smiling, and clearly liked by those around him. We continued talking on the phone afterwards.

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