The family and friends of three Britons locked up in Bali over an alleged cocaine smuggling plot have spoken of their ‘deep shock’ and ‘fear’ for their safety.
Jon Collyer, 38, and Lisa Stocker, 39, were arrested at Bali’s international airport in February after being caught with almost £300,000 worth of cocaine stashed inside sachets of Angel Delight powdered dessert mix, according to Balinese authorities.
The pair appeared in court in Bali this week alongside Phineas Float, 31, who was allegedly due to receive the packages and was arrested a few days later.
All three defendants, who are from Hastings and St Leonards-on-Sea in East Sussex, could face the death penalty.
Convicted drug traffickers, especially those caught with large quantities, have in the past been executed by firing squad in Indonesia – including foreign nationals. If the quantity is large but not enough for the death penalty, life in prison is a common sentence.
Today the families and friends of the three Britons wept as they spoke of their ‘horror’ at learning of the arrests and the penalty their loved ones could face.
Jon’s father Julian Collyer said: ‘I’m in deep shock, to be honest. I’m very, very worried as any father or parent would be. I’m concerned about the court case and just very worried.’
The retired graphic designer, who lives in Rye, East Sussex, said he had spoken to his son from prison in Bali but it was the first time in three weeks they had spoken.
Jon Collyer, 38, and Lisa Stocker, 39, were arrested at Bali’s international airport in February after allegedly being caught with almost £300,000 worth of cocaine inside sachets of Angel Delight powdered dessert mix
Brits Jon Collyer (centre), Lisa Stocker (right) and fellow defendant Phineas Float, 31, (left) who was allegedly due to receive the packages, sit inside a court room in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia on 03 June 2025
The narcotics were alleged discovered inside sealed blue plastic ‘Angel Delight’ sachets in Jon Collyer and Lisa Stocker’s luggage. Pictured: a stock photo of a packet of Angel Delight
‘I don’t want to talk about anything at the moment because I don’t want to jeopardise the court hearing. Anything I say could be misconstrued so I just want to stay quiet for the time being.’
A family member of Lisa Stocker, who would not be identified, wept as she told of her fear for her relative.
She said: ‘She’s just a mum. Her kids are going to be desperate without her. It doesn’t bear thinking about. I’m so shocked and I can’t sleep at night for thinking what might happen to her.’
Sobbing, she continued: ‘There are some seriously evil people in this world who take advantage of people less fortunate and I think that’s what has happened here. I’m in bits. I can’t say any more.’
Jon’s friend Dean, 39, said: ‘I’m still in total shock. I didn’t even know he and Lisa had gone to Bali. It’s an absolute mess and I’m really worried about them both.
‘Lisa has got kids, three I think, and what are they going to do if their mum is banged up. I was horrified when I heard about it. It’s a nightmare. I can’t believe they’d be so stupid to do something like that and I hope they’re released soon.’
It is understood Balinese officers halted the couple at the X-ray machine after finding ‘suspicious’ items in their suitcases.
They were pulled to a separate area, where staff found the narcotics sealed in blue plastic ‘Angel Delight’ sachets in Collyer’s luggage.
The trio, in regulation orange tops, pictured being paraded in front of local media during a press conference last week
The three British nationals could face the death penalty, since Indonesia has previously executed convicted drug traffickers by firing squad – including foreign nationals
However, Indonesia has paused the death penalty since 2017 and Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto’s government has in recent months repatriated several high-profile foreign nationals convicted of drug offences back to their home countries. Pictured: Lisa Stocker arriving for her trial at Denpasar district court on June 3, 2025
The father of arrested Brit Jon Collyer (Jon pictured above being led to court in handcuffs) said: ‘I’m in deep shock, to be honest. I’m very, very worried as any father or parent would be’
More cocaine was found in seven plastic bags in his partner’s suitcase.
It is alleged that Mr Collyer and Ms Stocker were caught with 17 packages of cocaine in total, with a value of £296,000.
Angel Delight is a powdered dessert mixture that was popular in the 1960s and 70s.
A former neighbour and friend of the Stocker family said: ‘I can’t believe it. I’m in shock. Gosh, I feel for the family. They were my neighbours for many years and they were nice.’
Jeannie, who would not give her surname, said: ‘They were a big family but we got on well. Lisa was nice. I can’t believe they’d be involved in something like this.’
The heaviest punishment for taking part in a drug transaction is the death penalty under Indonesian law.
However, the Indonesian government has paused the death penalty since 2017 and the country’s president Prabowo Subianto has in recent months repatriated several high-profile foreign nationals convicted of drug offences back to their home countries.
Frenchman Serge Atlaoui returned to France in February after Jakarta and Paris agreed a deal to repatriate him on ‘humanitarian grounds’ because he was ill.
Charlotte May Lee was arrested in a Sri Lankan airport after £1.15m of synthetic cannabis was allegedly found in her luggage
Charlotte May Lee is pictured being escorted by Sri Lankan officers to court where she faced drug smuggling charges
In court the police wheeled in the near-50kg haul of cannabis she was caught carrying as their investigation into the drugs bust continues
The former TUI cabin crew member is facing years locked in a Sri Lankan jail after being caught with nearly £1.2million worth of synthetic cannabis
Pictured: the female division of Negombo jail in Sri Lanka, where Charlotte May Lee is being held
An exterior shot of Negombo Prison, where Ms Lee is stuck in her crowded cell for 22 hours a day
In December, Indonesia took Mary Jane Veloso off death row and returned her to the Philippines.
It also sent the five remaining members of the ‘Bali Nine’ drug ring, who were serving heavy prison sentences, back to Australia.
According to Indonesia’s Ministry of Immigration and Corrections, 96 foreigners were on death row, all on drug charges, before Veloso’s release.
However, Collyer, Stocker and Float are only three of numerous Brits detained overseas on drug charges.
Last month a British former flight attendant was accused of smuggling £1.2 million of super-strength cannabis into Sri Lanka.
Charlotte May Lee, 21, from Coulsdon, south London, was arrested in Colombo after police discovered 46 kg of ‘Kush’ – a synthetic strain of cannabis – in her suitcase.
She had just arrived in the Sri Lankan capital on a flight from Bangkok in Thailand. She was arrested at Bandaranaike Airport and taken into custody on Monday, May 11.
She is facing up to 25 years locked in a hellhole Sri Lankan jail – but she has insisted she has been set up.
Bella Culley (pictured) is languishing in Georgia’s notorious Women’s Penitentiary Number Five alongside double murderer Magda Papidze, 35
Culley (pictured) could face a life sentence if convicted after she allegedly tried to smuggle 14kg of cannabis into the Black Sea nation
Flame-haired Papidze (pictured) is the only current inmate serving a full life sentence after smashing her husband Omar Kaphiashvili to death with a sledgehammer as he slept after strangling their five-year-old son, Tornike
Pictured: The foreboding exterior of Tbilisi’s Women’s Penitentiary Number Five, where Culley is being held
All the cells in the Georgian prison were said to have smelled ‘strongly of human sweat, human excrement, and cigarette smoke,’ according to a 2006 report
MailOnline spoke to her from her cell where she admitted that she had not been eating because the food was too spicy.
She was arrested on the same day as a British teenager was arrested in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi after allegedly arriving from Thailand carrying 14kg of cannabis in her luggage.
Bella May Culley, 18, is now facing life in prison in the former Soviet country after being accused of illegally buying, possessing and importing large quantities of narcotics.
The youngster from Billingham, Country Durham, was believed to have gone missing in Thailand before she was detained 3,700 miles away at Tbilisi International Airport.
Concerns had been raised that the two cases were related as both young women left Bangkok airport on the same day and were arrested in Sri Lanka and Georgia respectively within hours of each other.
But Ms Lee told MailOnline she did not know Ms Culley, who has been remanded in custody until her next appearance on July 1.
Ms Culley faces spending her sentence in Georgia with an evil sledgehammer killer who throttled her own child to death.
The 18-year-old is languishing in notorious Women’s Penitentiary Number Five alongside double murderer Magda Papidze, 35.
Flame-haired Papidze is the only current inmate serving a full life sentence after smashing her husband Omar Kaphiashvili to death with a sledgehammer as he slept, after first strangling their five-year-old son, Tornike.
