Tests have confirmed that two tablets found in the handbag of Australian model Michelle Leslie were ecstasy, senior Indonesian police said today.

The results of the laboratory tests were announced at a news conference in Bali by National Police Chief Sutanto and the island's drug squad chief Bambang Sugiarto.

Sutanto said he would send details of the tests to the Australian Federal Police.

Hours earlier Leslie hired a Bali lawyer with a strong record of helping foreigners to defend her against possible ecstasy possession charges.

Mohammad Rifan - who is also defending some of the Bali nine - met Leslie, 24, today at Bali's police headquarters.

She has been detained there since Saturday when police allegedly found the tablets.

"She hasn't been interrogated yet, so I have not set a strategy," Mr Rifan said. "We are waiting for the police investigation to start."

If charges are laid and she is convicted, Adelaide-born Leslie could face a maximum of 15 years in jail, though a prison term of a few months is more likely for such a small amount of drugs.

Michelle Leslie, the Sydney model Bali police say they caught with two ecstasy tablets on her way to a dance party, could be jailed for up to 15 years if convicted.

The 24-year-old, who also uses the surname Lee, was arrested on Saturday but has refused to answer police questions, spending much of her time in tears.

An intelligence officer with the Bali drug squad, Major Mardiaz Kusin, said police had searched a car Leslie and two of her friends were in, outside a party at Bali's GWK Park - the site of the first anniversary commemoration of the Bali bombings.

Police said they found in her Gucci bag two pink tablets wrapped in tissue paper, which they displayed at a media conference yesterday.

Major Kusin said one of Leslie's friends had asked her what she had, and Leslie replied that two friends had given them to her. He said Leslie told her friend she did not know what the drugs were.

But a police information sheet handed out to media said that Leslie bought the pills in a local street for $20 each.

Major Kusin said Leslie's car was the subject of a routine random search. Four Indonesians had also been arrested with ecstasy pills. He denied foreigners were being targeted over drug use in Bali. But he added "we apply selective priority because we have limited police officers".

Leslie's father, Albert, told Channel Ten he was in shock and that his daughter's predicament was out of character. Her picture appeared on the front-page of the Herald in June as an example of the perfect face.

Alex Zabotto-Bentley, who was a fashion stylist on Channel Ten's Search for a Supermodel, in which Leslie competed in 2000, was also shocked by the arrest.

"I seriously could not believe it. It's like some horrible, disgusting misunderstanding. She was just a gorgeous girl, really innocent, special and sweet."

Rob Peile, editor and associate producer of Search for a Supermodel, agreed.

"I remember her being a sweet, lovely woman."

Outdoor raves are a new trend in Bali's lively nightlife and are popular with wealthy locals and tourists. However, drug use, largely ecstasy and marijuana, is common, and police said dealers were known to operate in the car park outside GWK Park.

Major Kusin said police intelligence had suggested there would be many drugs at the all-night party, and many had escaped arrest because few cars were searched.

Indonesian police are in the midst of a highly publicised anti-drugs campaign, in which they have raided clubs and forced urine tests. Leslie had been given a urine test, which had not shown any drugs, Major Kusin said. The tablets are still being tested.

The charge laid against her, possessing psychotropic drugs, carries a minimum term of four years and a maximum of 15, although the final sentence is at the judge's discretion and could amount to just months.

Leslie arrived in Bali six days ago for a holiday with a group of friends from Singapore. Her arrest follows Schapelle Corby's 20-year conviction for marijuana smuggling and the arrest of nine Australians for trying to smuggle heroin from Bali.

Police arrested a second Australian at the weekend for possessing a small amount of crystal methamphetamine. Police allege they found thousand of pills in the house of Graham Payne, 21, a teacher working in Sumatra, although most were commonly available medicines.

If convicted he faces a maximum of nine years' jail.

The Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, said Leslie's arrest should serve as a warning to Australians travelling overseas. "People should understand that if you are going anywhere in Asia you should never have drugs with you - the consequences can be quite dire."

Leslie has been a model for Myer and Antz Pantz underwear.