Ecstasy smuggling foiled in Batam

BATAM, Riau: Security personnel at the Hang Nadim Airport in Batam foiled an attempt to smuggle 3,576 Ecstasy pills by a man identified as Dar, 29, Antara reported on Sunday.

"We caught him when he passed through the X-ray machine at his gate about 3:20 p.m. on Saturday. He planned to bring the pills to Jakarta aboard Garuda flight number GA-175," the security director of the Batam Island Industrial Development Authority, Col. Eric Wotulo, said on Sunday.

The man wrapped the majority of the pills around his waist with plastic tape and cloth, and the rest of the pills were placed in his trouser pockets.

Besides Ecstasy, the officers found other illegal drugs on the man.

Dar said he was carrying the drugs for AA, who lives in Jakarta, and a Singapore man identified as LY, the alleged owner of the drugs.

"The suspect was equipped with a cellular phone, an automatic teller machine card and a Garuda ticket under a different name," Eric said. (edt)