Indonesia arrests Malaysian pilot for allegedly smuggling 26kg of Ecstasy into Jakarta

JAKARTA – Indonesia arrested a Malaysian pilot who allegedly smuggled 26kg of the mind-altering drug MDMA, which is commonly known as Ecstasy, into the capital Jakarta while on the job and under the influence of drugs, the Customs office said on July 31.The pilot, 39, was arrested on July 30 at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.Customs officials found 14 bags of Ecstasy – more than 70,000 tablets – in the pilot’s suitcase, and 4g of methamphetamine in his hand luggage.The suspect, who was identified by the initials M.S., had just flown a Malaysia Airlines plane from Kuala Lumpur to Jakarta, said Customs officer Hengky Tomuan Parlindungan Aritonang in a press conference on July 31.The pilot had taken the MDMA in a suitcase to Jakarta at the request of an unidentified person with the promise of a RM50,000 (S$15,800) reward, the Customs office said.A urine test found that the pilot was under the influence of cocaine and methamphetamine, Hengky said, adding that Indonesian and Malaysian authorities are in communication with each other.“What concerns all of us is that this person is a pilot by profession, and at the time he arrived, he had just flown that plane from Kuala Lumpur to Indonesia,” he said.Hengky said the pilot was a courier.He said the pilot most likely did not expect to be checked in the special Customs lane for pilots and crew, “but the monitoring we carry out is the same” for everyone.In a statement to investigators, the suspect said this was the third time he had attempted to smuggle drugs. He said he had previously tried to smuggle drugs to Indonesia once, and in Malaysia once.Awaludin Amin, an officer in the Indonesian national police’s drugs crime unit, said the police strongly suspected the pilot of being part of an international syndicate, and he had been charged with violating Indonesia’s drugs law.Under the law, the suspect risks the death penalty or a life sentence if found guilty.Airline conducting ‘internal review’Malaysia Airlines, in a statement on July 31, said it took the allegations seriously and had launched an internal review.“Malaysia Airlines will extend its full cooperation to the relevant authorities in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations,” it said.The carrier declined further comment pending the Indonesian investigation.Indonesia has some of the world’s toughest anti-drug laws, including the death penalty for traffickers, but has maintained a moratorium on executions for several years.There are dozens of foreign alleged traffickers on death row in the country.In 2015, Indonesia executed two Australians in the Bali Nine drug ring for attempting to smuggle heroin out of the resort island.Indonesia last carried out the death sentence in 2016, when one Indonesian and three Nigerians convicted of drug offences were executed by firing squad.Two British men were sentenced in March to nine and 11 years in prison, respectively, after they were found guilty of smuggling cocaine into Bali. In June, Bali police arrested two Russians for attempting to smuggle nearly 8kg of hashish to the resort island. REUTERS, AFP