Better surveillance at airport

JAKARTA (JP): Custom and excise officials at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport will increase surveillance of passengers and baggage in an attempt to stop transport of illegal drugs out of the country, an official said.

Permana Agung of the Directorate General of Custom and Excise said on Wednesday there had been many incidents where illegal drugs were successfully smuggled through airport security. This is supported in a confession by a suspect arrested Saturday, who said she had transported some 30,000 ecstasy pills to Bangkok last month.

Mili Wagimin was arrested on charges of trying to smuggle some 10,000 ecstasy pills. She was found to have plastic bags containing the drugs strapped to her body.

"We need more intelligence operations to anticipate (smuggling drugs out of Indonesia)," Permana told a press conference on a similar smuggling attempt.

A man identified as Cheng Ching Lung, 30, with a People's Republic of China passport, was arrested Monday for possession of 4,721 ecstasy pills. They were also in plastic bags, strapped to his legs. The arrest was made when he was about to board a flight to Taipei.

At the press conference Ucok Marisi, the airport customs officer in charge of smuggling interdiction, said most arrests in narcotic cases in the last two years were based on "profile analysis" of passengers behaving suspiciously, apart from baggage and body checks.

Also confiscated at the airport on Wednesday were some 9,500 porn VCDs. (07/41)