A Malaysia Airlines pilot arrested with 70,114 ecstasy pills in his luggage at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport had been smuggling drugs abroad for a syndicate since 2024, Bukit Aman said.
Narcotics Crime Investigation Department (NCID) director Datuk Hussein Omar Khan said the 39-year-old pilot, identified only by his initials, had made multiple drug runs to different countries since 2024. “He has been involved since 2024, acting as a courier to transport drugs out of the country to several destinations according to his flight schedule. This was not his first time,” NST quoted him as saying.
The pilot was arrested on 29 July after Indonesian customs officers flagged his luggage during an X-ray scan at Terminal 3. Officers found 14 packages containing 70,114 ecstasy pills weighing about 25kg, along with 2.7g of methamphetamine. The haul was estimated at RM45 million. A urine test also showed the pilot tested positive for methamphetamine, MDMA, and cocaine, raising concerns that he had been operating the aircraft under the influence while carrying at least 170 passengers.
He was promised RM50,000 by a syndicate mastermind based in Malaysia to deliver the drugs to Jakarta, where they were to be collected at a hotel, The Star reported.
Investigations revealed the pilot had been using his flight routes to move drugs for the syndicate on multiple occasions. He allegedly admitted to earlier assignments, including transporting methamphetamine to Sabah and smuggling about 7kg of methamphetamine into Jakarta on a previous trip. Police records show this is the fourth case involving a pilot used as a drug courier since 2012, with one case in 2012 involving a pilot transporting drugs to Australia and two more recorded in 2017.
Hussein said the pilot had collected his drug supply from an apartment in Ampang before departing for Jakarta. He arrived at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) on the morning of 28 July and checked in the luggage containing the drugs. He then boarded a flight to Kota Kinabalu, returned to KLIA later that day, and departed for Jakarta that night.
This raised questions about how the luggage passed through security screening at KLIA. Malaysia Border Control and Protection Agency (AKPS) director-general Datuk Seri Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain said no suspicious images were detected during X-ray screening of the pilot’s luggage.
A four-member NCID team arrived in Jakarta on 11 August to interrogate the suspect over two days. Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail confirmed that Indonesian authorities had granted Malaysian police access to question the pilot. “From the beginning, our investigators were given access by the Indonesian authorities to interview the subject,” he said, adding that proposals to strengthen airport security could be presented at the next Cabinet meeting.
Investigators are tracing syndicate members who communicated using phone numbers registered under false identities. Four to five individuals have been questioned so far to determine whether any insider was involved. The pilot remains in Indonesian custody and faces charges under Indonesia’s drug laws, which carry a maximum penalty of death.
Malaysia Airlines said it was cooperating with authorities and had launched its own internal investigation. “Malaysia Airlines wishes to reiterate that it does not tolerate any form of misconduct and is currently undertaking an internal review of the matter,” the airline said.
