JAKARTA: A Malaysian pilot has been arrested in Indonesia for allegedly attempting to smuggle drugs, including 25 kilogrammes of ecstasy worth about Rp60 billion (Rp1 million = RM225.20), into the country, authorities said on Friday.
Indonesia’s Director General of Customs and Excise, Djaka Budi Utama said the 39-year-old suspect was intercepted upon arrival at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on July 29 after piloting an international passenger flight from Kuala Lumpur, with the drugs allegedly found concealed in his luggage.
“Customs and Excise at Soekarno-Hatta Airport successfully intercepted an attempt to smuggle MDMA or ecstasy, consisting of 14 packages.
“The seizure amounted to approximately 70,114 ecstasy pills with a net weight of around 25.15 kilogrammes, along with four grammes gross of methamphetamine, or crystal meth,” he said at a joint press conference with the Criminal Investigation Agency (Bareskrim) of the Indonesian National Police here on Friday.
Head of Sub-Directorate II of Bareskrim’s Narcotics Directorate Awaludin Amin said laboratory tests found the suspect’s urine positive for MDMA, methamphetamine and cocaine. Preliminary investigations also indicated that the suspect may have smuggled narcotics into Indonesia on previous occasions.
He said, based on the initial interrogation, the suspect admitted to bringing illegal drugs into Indonesia on three occasions, twice through Jakarta and once through another region.
“Our suspicion is that he is part of an international network, but we need time to further investigate and uncover the wider syndicate,” he said, adding that investigators were tracing other members of the alleged network and identifying the intended recipients of the drugs in Indonesia.
Soekarno-Hatta Customs and Excise Head Hengki described the case as particularly alarming as the suspect had just piloted an international passenger flight carrying about 170 passengers before his arrest.
He noted that flight crew are generally regarded internationally as low-risk travellers and are processed through dedicated airport channels, but stressed that Customs applies the same inspection standards to crew members and passengers.
Hengki said Indonesian authorities had begun coordinating with their Malaysian counterparts following the arrest.
He added that Indonesia’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation would continue liaising with Malaysia’s aviation authorities, while the Royal Malaysia Police and the Royal Malaysian Customs Department had already established communication with their Indonesian counterparts.
Investigations are ongoing to determine the full extent of the suspect’s alleged involvement in the trafficking syndicate and whether the case is linked to other cross-border smuggling operations, he said. — BERNAMA
