A Malaysian pilot could face the death penalty in Indonesia after police found more than 70,000 ecstasy pills and methamphetamine in his luggage at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta.
The 39-year-old, identified only as MS, was arrested shortly after arriving on a passenger flight from Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday. While Indonesian authorities did not identify his employer, the flight number indicated it was a Malaysia Airlines service.
Customs officials said they recovered 14 bags containing ecstasy tablets from the pilot’s suitcase and four grammes of methamphetamine from his hand luggage.
Investigators alleged that the pilot agreed to transport the drugs for an unidentified person in exchange for a reward of 50,000 ringgit (about $12,240).
Police also alleged that he was under the influence of drugs while operating the aircraft.
“The results of his urine test came back positive for meth, MDMA and cocaine,” said an official.
“What concerns all of us is that this person’s profession is a pilot. At the time he arrived, he had just flown that plane from Kuala Lumpur to Indonesia.”
Malaysia Airlines declined to comment on the case while the investigation continues but said it has zero tolerance for misconduct and has started an internal review.
“Malaysia Airlines will extend its full cooperation to the relevant authorities in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations,” the airline said in a statement.
Awaludin Amin, an officer with Indonesia’s national drugs crime unit, described the suspect as a courier working for an international drug syndicate. He also alleged that it was not the first time MS had smuggled drugs into Indonesia.
Indonesia has some of the world’s toughest anti-drug laws. Drug trafficking offences can carry life imprisonment or the death penalty, although the country has not carried out an execution since 2016 and has maintained a moratorium for the past decade.
About 90 foreign nationals and more than 400 Indonesians remain on death row for drug-related offences. In March this year, two British men were sentenced to nine and 11 years in prison after being convicted of smuggling cocaine into Bali.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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