Another Malaysian has been arrested in Indonesia on drug trafficking charges, barely a week after a Malaysia Airlines pilot was nabbed at Jakarta airport with over 70,000 ecstasy pills.
The 22-year-old suspect was detained at Terminal 2 of Juanda International Airport in Surabaya after arriving on Batik Air flight OD352 from Kuala Lumpur on Monday. Officers discovered four packages containing 990g of methamphetamine and four packages holding 1,089 ecstasy pills strapped beneath a corset wrapped around his body, according to The Star.
The suspect, identified only by the initials DI, told investigators he agreed to work as a courier for an international drug syndicate because of financial difficulties and mounting debts.
“The suspect tried to conceal the narcotics under the corset he was wearing to avoid inspection. However, the attempt was foiled,” Juanda Naval Air Base commander Colonel Henoch Nasairus Virzawan said during a press conference on Monday, as reported by NST.
Authorities put the street value of the seized drugs at Rp2.79 billion, approximately US$155,000. The seizure could have prevented the narcotics from reaching an estimated 6,584 users.
DI and the seized drugs were handed over to the Sidoarjo municipal police for further investigations to identify and dismantle the wider international drug trafficking network believed to be involved. Under Indonesian law, he faces five to 20 years in prison, life imprisonment, or the death penalty if found guilty.
The arrest follows the detention of a Malaysia Airlines pilot at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta on July 28. Indonesian authorities found about 25kg of MDMA and methamphetamine hidden in his luggage, with The Star reporting the total included more than 70,000 ecstasy pills. The pilot reportedly tested positive for methamphetamine, ecstasy, and cocaine, and allegedly admitted to flying under the influence.
Bukit Aman Narcotics Crime Investigation Department director Datuk Hussein Omar Khan said Malaysian police were working closely with Indonesian counterparts in the pilot’s case, tracing the source of the drugs, determining whether he was linked to a syndicate, and investigating how the narcotics passed through airport security in Malaysia.
Separately, three Malaysians were arrested at Hat Yai Railway Station in Songkhla on July 31 on suspicion of trying to smuggle 87kg of crystal meth concealed in three wheeled suitcases and three backpacks. The string of arrests has raised questions about how Malaysian couriers continue to move large drug shipments through regional airports and border crossings.
