▲ Malaysia Airlines
A pilot for a national airline of Malaysia has been arrested at an airport after operating a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Jakarta while under the influence of drugs and attempting to smuggle narcotics.
According to foreign media reports including AP, Reuters, and AFP on the 1st (local time), the Indonesian National Police's Criminal Investigation Agency announced that it has arrested a 39-year-old male pilot identified by his surname A, who works for the national carrier Malaysia Airlines, on charges including drug law violations.
He is accused of attempting to smuggle drugs, including 70,000 ecstasy pills and 4 grams of methamphetamine, into Jakarta from Kuala Lumpur on the 28th of last month.
On the day of the incident, pilot A flew an aircraft from Kuala Lumpur International Airport and arrived at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta.
Customs officials at Soekarno-Hatta Airport discovered a suspicious luggage during X-ray baggage screening, and subsequent checks revealed that the owner was pilot A.
After being handed over to the police, he tested positive for methamphetamine, ecstasy, and cocaine in a urine test.
Indonesian customs authorities stated that pilot A served as a drug courier and is believed to have been under the influence of drugs even while flying.
Eko Hadi Santoso, the director of drug crimes at the Indonesian National Police, stated, "Pilot A has been detained after being identified as a suspect," adding, "We are conducting further investigations to identify the network above pilot A."
During police questioning, pilot A stated that he received instructions to transport the drugs to Jakarta in exchange for 50,000 ringgit (approximately 17 million won) from another individual.
He added that after arriving in Jakarta, he was scheduled to receive further instructions from an individual in Malaysia, and the drugs were planned to be picked up by another person who would visit his hotel.
Pilot A confessed to the Indonesian police that this was his third offense, admitting that he had smuggled drugs on two previous occasions.
He confessed that he previously transported methamphetamine to Sabah on Borneo Island in Malaysia, and subsequently smuggled 7 kilograms of methamphetamine into Jakarta as well.
Malaysia Airlines stated that it is cooperating with authorities regarding the incident involving its pilot A and has also launched an internal investigation.
Indonesian customs authorities expressed concern that drug smuggling rings have infiltrated the aviation industry by exploiting baggage regulations applied separately to airline crew members.
Hengky Tomuan, the head of customs at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, said, "When checking in at Kuala Lumpur, a special tag is attached to crew baggage," noting that they believe the separate baggage handling procedures applied to airline crew are being exploited for drug smuggling.
Previously in June, Australian police also apprehended a female flight attendant belonging to the national carrier Thai Airlines on charges of smuggling 1 kilogram of heroin into the country.
Indonesia enforces strict drug laws, including the maximum sentence of the death penalty for drug trafficking offenses.
In 2005, a drug smuggling ring attempting to smuggle heroin out of the resort island of Bali was busted, and two Australian members of this organization were executed 10 years later in 2015.
(Photo: Getty Images)
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