SHAH ALAM: Bukit Aman’s probe into the arrest of a Malaysian pilot after he was found with drugs at an Indonesian airport has revealed where he received the narcotics before flying.
Investigations showed that the suspect had received the drugs from a location in the Klang Valley days before his flight, said Bukit Aman Narcotics Crime Investigation Department (NCID) director Comm Datuk Hussein Omar Khan.
“Investigations showed that he received the drugs from an apartment in Ampang around two days before. We have also traced down the number he used to contact (the syndicate).
“The police are investigating the whole distribution,” he said at a press conference at the Selangor police contingent headquarters here yesterday.
He added that the police were also investigating how the suspect had passed through the security checks at the airport.
“We are also working with the Indonesian side to see the links to the Indonesian syndicate,” he added.
While no suspects have been identified locally, Comm Hussein said that investigations have revealed a “person of interest” to the police.
“Investigations have identified one person and if the need arises we will make the arrest. He is an airport staff member that was involved in the screening processes.
“The procedure at KLIA involves multiple levels of screening. So, if an item passes the first level of screening, which is carried out automatically using the available scanning systems, it will not proceed to the second level of inspection.
“However, if the first-level screening detects something suspicious in the view of the authorities, it will then be referred to the second level, and if necessary, the third level.
“As explained in the press conference on Monday at KLIA, the suspect went through all the required security screening procedures, including the initial level-one screening. Since the screening did not detect anything suspicious, the baggage was allowed to proceed.
“That is the standard procedure at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport,” he said.
He also emphasised that crew and pilots undergo the same checks as passengers at the airport.
On the pilot’s movement on the day of his arrest, Comm Hussein said that investigations showed he checked in his luggage early in the day before proceeding with his route to Kota Kinabalu and back before then flying to Jakarta from Sepang.
“He did an early check-in of his luggage at the airport the day of the incident,” he said.
Comm Hussein added that an officer from Bukit Aman will fly to Indonesia to work with their counterparts on the investigations and to conduct their own questioning of the suspect.
On July 28, a 39-year-old Malaysian pilot was arrested at Terminal 3 of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport by Indonesian authorities after officers discovered 15 packages containing 70,114 ecstasy pills and methamphetamine in his luggage.
