Stephens, from
Towradgi, a suburb of
Wollongong, New South Wales, was employed at
Eurest, a catering company, where he met
Renae Lawrence,
Matthew Norman, and his supervisor,
Andrew Chan. All four would later be convicted of drug trafficking as fellow members of the Bali Nine. According to media reports based on the testimony of Renae Lawrence, acting under the instructions of Andrew Chan, Stephens and Lawrence departed Australia on 6 April 2005. The day before, Stephens, Lawrence, and
Si Yi Chen met with
Myuran Sukumaran where police allege drug smuggling tools such as sealable plastic bags, medical tape, elastic waist bands and skin tight bike shorts were stuffed into the bags of Stephens and Lawrence. Lawrence claimed she was given cash; whilst Stephens claimed that his life was threatened. Media reports claim that police records show that whilst in Bali, Lawrence was in daily contact with Chan until 13 April, when Chan changed his mobile phone number. On the same day, he instructed Stephens and Lawrence, staying at the Kuta Laguna, to change hotels. Together with Chen and Norman, Stephens and Lawrence checked into the Adhi Dharma hotel on 14 April. Indonesian police were in an adjacent room in the same hotel. Nguyen arrived on 16 April, and booked into the same hotel. The original planned departure date of 14 April from Bali was delayed as Chan suspected Australian and Indonesian police were aware of his plans. On 17 April, Chen, Norman, and Nguyen checked out of the Adhi Dharma hotel, leaving Stephens and Lawrence in the hotel On the same day that Stephens was arrested, Indonesian police also arrested Si Yi Chen, Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen, Myuran Sukumaran and Matthew Norman at the Melasti Hotel in
Kuta. Alleged co-ringleader, Andrew Chan was also arrested the same day whilst seated on an
Australian Airlines flight waiting to depart Denpasar for Sydney. At the time Chan was arrested, he was carrying three mobile phones and a boarding pass. No drugs were found in his possession.
Criticism of Australian Federal Police tipoff Lee Rush, the father of Scott Rush, a fellow member of the Bali Nine, said that he contacted the
Australian Federal Police (AFP) prior to the commission of the offence, fearing his son was travelling to Bali and would commit a
drug-related crime. Rush senior claims then to have received assurances from the AFP that they would tell his son he was under
surveillance to dissuade him from going through with the crime before the group's departure from Indonesia. Scott Rush's lawyers said he was never contacted. It was revealed that the AFP alerted Indonesian police that a crime was to be committed approximately two weeks before the arrests, and had commenced an investigation about ten weeks prior to the arrests. and there was criticism of the role of the AFP in protecting the interests of Australian citizens. Commenting on the matter at the time, AFP
Commissioner Mick Keelty was reported as saying: Rush took action in the
Federal Court of Australia against the AFP for breach of the
bilateral treaty between Indonesia and Australia when information was handed by the AFP to the Indonesians. Rush's case claimed that such information should only be released by the
Attorney-General. However, the Commonwealth Government maintained that the treaty only applies after a suspect is charged. The application was dismissed by the Federal Court in January 2006. == Criminal trial ==