Indonesian authorities arrested a 39-year-old Malaysian pilot accused of flying under the influence while trying to smuggle roughly 26 kilograms of illegal substances into the country. He was carrying ec–sy and me–amine in his luggage.
The authorities have not revealed his name and have only identified him by his initial MS. The pilot was arrested shortly after he landed at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. Director of narcotics Eko Hadi Santoso revealed that customs officers at the arrival terminal noticed suspicious content in the suitcase while conducting an X-ray screening.
Santoso further added, “He has been named a suspect and detained. Investigators are still conducting further inquiries to develop the network above him.”
He also revealed that MS had previously committed a similar crime and told the officers that he did this in exchange for money. He was working for another person who had asked him to transport the d–s in exchange for $11,700 (50,000 Malaysian ringgit).
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After arriving in Jakarta, he was supposed to receive further information from the person about the d–s collection. The pilot had previously smuggled seven kilograms of me–amine between Jakarta and Sabah in another shipment.
The luggage was collected by the suspected pilot, leading to his arrest. He was flying on flight MH727 from Kuala Lumpur to Jakarta. Before the arrest, he was taken to the customs inspection room. The police found 14 packages containing over 70,000 ec–sy pills and some separate packages of me–amine. The case was later handed over to Indonesia’s narcotics investigators.
Apart from smuggling illegal substances, the pilot himself tested positive for co–e, ec–sy, and me–amine during a urine test. Considering the serious laws related to dr– trafficking in Indonesia, the pilot is at risk of the death penalty or life imprisonment. Currently, there are hundreds of people on death row in Indonesia due to dr– trafficking.
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According to the head of the Soekarno-Hatta Airport Customs Office, Hengky Tomuan Parlindungan Aritonga, trafficking of illegal substances has become rampant in the aviation industry.
The reason behind this is the separate baggage claim for the crew members. So they have different processing channels. He added, “At check-in in Kuala Lumpur, the baggage followed a different channel because the claim tag identified it as crew baggage.” As a result, crew members often exploit these privileges.
Malaysia Airlines has also revealed that it is launching an internal investigation of the incident. The airline released a statement, “Malaysia Airlines wishes to reiterate that it does not tolerate any form of misconduct and is currently undertaking an internal review of the matter.”
Disclaimer: Inquisitr could not independently confirm the facts of this incident and is reporting based on the information available.
