PETALING JAYA: Police have confirmed the arrest of a Malaysian pilot suspected of attempting to smuggle about 25kg of MDMA (ecstasy) and a small amount of methamphetamine through Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta.
The 39-year-old was arrested shortly after arriving in Jakarta from Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday (July 28).
Bukit Aman Narcotics Crime Investigation Department (NCID) director Comm Datuk Hussein Omar Khan confirmed the arrest when contacted.
"The suspect was arrested there (in Indonesia) and will face action under the country's laws," he said on Friday (July 31).
Earlier, the suspect was detained after customs officers detected suspicious images in a crew member's luggage during an X-ray scan.
A subsequent inspection uncovered 14 packages containing 70,114 ecstasy pills weighing an estimated 25kg, along with 2.7g of methamphetamine.
The suspect also tested positive for methamphetamine, ecstasy and cocaine.
Earlier, Indonesian National Police Criminal Investigation Agency (Bareskrim Polri) Narcotics Directorate director Brig Gen Eko Hadi Santoso was reported as saying that preliminary investigations found the suspect admitted to acting as a drug mule for an international drug syndicate.
He said the suspect had been promised about RM50,000 by a syndicate mastermind in Malaysia to transport the drugs to Jakarta.
Upon arriving in Indonesia, the suspect was instructed to check into a hotel before being contacted by syndicate members to hand over the luggage containing the drugs.
Investigations also revealed that this was not the first time the suspect had been involved in drug smuggling activities.
The suspect allegedly admitted to acting as a courier for the syndicate on three occasions, including delivering methamphetamine to Sabah and smuggling about 7kg of methamphetamine into Jakarta in an earlier operation.
He is currently being held at the Bareskrim Polri detention centre to assist investigations, including efforts to identify the syndicate network believed to be operating across Malaysia and Indonesia.
