Indonesian authorities said Friday they have arrested a Malaysia Airlines pilot accused of smuggling of more than 57 pounds of ecstasy and a package of methamphetamine shortly after he landed in Jakarta's international airport. The 39-year-old Malaysian national, identified only by the initials MS, was also accused of being on duty while under the influence of narcotics, said Eko Hadi Santoso, director of narcotics crimes at the National Police Criminal Investigation Agency. The case was uncovered late Tuesday when customs officers inspecting baggage at the international arrivals terminal of Soekarno-Hatta Airport noticed a suspicious suitcase during an X-ray screening, the AP reports.
The luggage was later collected by the suspect, whom police identified as a pilot for Malaysian Airlines on Flight MH727 from Kuala Lumpur to Jakarta, Santoso said. He said customs officers took the pilot and the suitcase to an inspection room. Police said they found 14 large packages containing more than 70,000 ecstasy pills, along with a separate package of methamphetamine. Police narcotics investigators took over the case, and the suspect was taken into custody, Santoso said. "Investigators are still conducting further inquiries to develop the network above him," he said at a news conference.
MS told investigators he had been instructed by another person to transport the ecstasy to Jakarta in exchange for about $11,700, Santoso said. The pilot was told that after arriving in Jakarta he would receive further instructions from a person believed to be in Malaysia and that the drugs would be collected from his hotel by another individual. According to Santoso, the pilot admitted to previously transporting drugs on two occasions. The shipment on Tuesday was intercepted before it could be delivered. The pilot is being investigated under Indonesia's narcotics law, which carries severe penalties for trafficking large quantities of illegal drugs, including a possible death penalty.
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