A 39-year-old pilot, known only by the initials MSO, was detained on Wednesday at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport shortly after arriving from Kuala Lumpur.
The airport customs did not specify which airline the pilot belonged to, but the flight number indicates that he was flying on a Malaysia Airlines plane.
“His urine test results were positive for methamphetamine, MDMA, and cocaine. This means he was intoxicated during the flight,” airport customs officer Hengky Tomuan Parlindungan Aritonang told journalists in the Indonesian capital.
“We are all concerned that this person’s profession is a pilot, and upon arrival, he had just flown a plane from Kuala Lumpur to Indonesia,” he added.
Customs officers found 14 packets of ecstasy tablets in the pilot’s luggage – a total of more than 70,000 units. Four grams of methamphetamine, believed to be for personal use, were also found in his carry-on bag, reports the Daily Mail.
H. T. P. Aritonang said the pilot probably did not expect to be checked in the special customs line designated for pilots and crew members.
“Maybe he thought he wouldn’t be checked, but our control is the same for everyone,” the officer said.
During the interrogation, the man admitted that this was already the third time he had tried to smuggle drugs. Twice he did so into Indonesia, and once into Malaysia.
Indonesian customs officials suspect that MSO may have belonged to an international drug trafficking network. He has been charged with drug trafficking.
Under Indonesian law, the pilot faces the death penalty or life imprisonment.
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Indonesia has some of the strictest drug laws in the world – the death penalty can be imposed for large-scale drug trafficking in the country. However, in recent years, there has been an unwritten moratorium on executions in the country.
The pilot told investigators that he was promised about 50,000 Malaysian ringgits (more than 12,000 US dollars) for delivering drugs to Jakarta.
Malaysia Airlines said in a statement released on Friday that it takes the allegations seriously and has launched an internal investigation.
“Malaysia Airlines will fully cooperate with the relevant authorities, complying with all applicable laws and regulations,” the company said in a statement.
The airline did not provide further comments while the Indonesian authorities’ investigation is ongoing.
In Indonesia, dozens of foreign nationals convicted of drug offenses are awaiting the death penalty.
The last time Indonesia carried out the death penalty for drug offenses was in 2016 – when one Indonesian citizen and three Nigerian citizens were executed by firing squad.
In March this year, two British citizens were sentenced to nine and eleven years in prison for cocaine smuggling to the tourist-favorite island of Bali.
In June, Bali police detained two Russian citizens who allegedly tried to bring nearly 8 kilograms of hashish onto the island.
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