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SNOWING IN BALI

Customers sometimes they beat me, kick me, say, 'Fuck you.'

Well, you're ripping them off.

Yeah. I don't want to but I make this point to them: 'Sorry, brother, but it's very hard to live here, to get some money, because my system of the government not so good.'

– Wayan, fake drug dealer

Wayan had been arrested many times when undercover cops did a sweep of the Kuta beachfront area, scooping up all the dealers, taking them to a police station, testing their drugs, then releasing them the next morning.

There were also plenty of dealers with the real stuff, in clubs and on the streets; often in cahoots with the police so they'd all get a slice of the payoff from a busted tourist – who'd almost always be willing to pay big bucks to eliminate the problem before it went further.

Although the western drug dealers usually had no direct contact with locals working the streets, there was a crossover in the criminal underworlds. Lemon Juice boss Marco would sometimes buy a hooker as a gift for his good horses. 'You want to fuck a girl today?' he'd ask, then relish searching for a hot freelance girl in a club.

Marco was good to find beautiful prostitutes … everybody was surprised, 'Where did you find this girl?' 'Kuta.' Marco was very good, not shy. If he sits in the plane next to you, he makes friends with you, very social.

– Rafael

But the Lemon Juice boss always warned his horses of the cardinal rule: never ever use drugs in front of a local hooker,

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