Malaysian Pilot Arrested at Soekarno-Hatta Airport with Crystal Meth and 70,000 Ecstasy Pills
A Malaysian foreign airline pilot, Mohd Saufi bin Othman (MSO), has been arrested by a joint team from the National Police Criminal Investigation Agency (Bareskrim Polri) and Soekarno-Hatta International Airport Customs after being caught carrying crystal methamphetamine and ecstasy.
The Director of Narcotics Crimes at Bareskrim Polri, Brigadier General Eko Hadi Santoso, stated that the arrest occurred during a routine check when the suspect arrived at Terminal 3 of Soekarmata-Hatta Airport on Tuesday (28/7) at approximately 23:30 WIB.
“Customs officers monitoring the international passenger X-ray identified a suspicious suitcase. After the suitcase was retrieved by its owner, MSO, who is a pilot for a foreign airline,” he said in a written statement on Friday (31/7).
Eko explained that the inspection revealed evidence consisting of 70,114 ecstasy pills weighing approximately 25 kilograms. Additionally, one package of crystal methamphetamine weighing 2.7 grams was discovered inside the suitcase.
“During the inspection, the team found 14 large packages of ecstasy and one package of crystal methamphetamine,” he clarified.
He further explained that the suspect admitted to receiving orders from a drug lord based in Malaysia to transport the illegal narcotics to Jakarta, in exchange for a promised payment of 50,000 Malaysian Ringgit.
“The suspect was instructed by an individual (suspected to reside in Malaysia) that someone would meet him at a hotel to collect the drugs,” he added.
Eko also noted that the suspect had previously successfully smuggled narcotics into Indonesia on two occasions, specifically transporting crystal methamphetamine to Sabah and 7 kilograms of methamphetamine to Jakarta.
Furthermore, drug tests confirmed that the suspect had tested positive for the consumption of methamphetamine, ecstasy, and cocaine.
“Urine test results were positive for Methamphetamine (sabu), MDMA (ecstasy), and cocaine,” he concluded.