Officers blame equipment for failure to arrest Brazilian

Officers blame equipment for failure to arrest Brazilian

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang

The Soekarno-Hatta International Airport customs and excise put
the blame on a lack of security facilities for their failure to
arrest Brazilian paraglider Marco Archer Cardoso Moreira, who
attempted to smuggle 13.7 kilograms of cocaine into the country.

Head of the Customs and Excise Office at the airport Jusuf
Hindarto told the press on Tuesday that the lack of security
facilities and an unorganized flight schedule hindered his
officers in monitoring arriving and departing passengers.

"We have submitted our request to PT Angkasa Pura, the airport
management, for security cameras in certain corners of the
airport since 2001. We still haven't received the equipment," he
said.

The mixed domestic and foreign flights added to the
difficulties in monitoring the passengers.

"It's very difficult for our officers to monitor passengers at
peak hours, during which many of them arrive or depart," Jusuf
said.

PT Angkasa Pura spokesman Sjahrial Sjam said that Moreira fled
the officers when he was still at the customs and excise
checkpoint.

Sjahrial admitted that the mixed flight at Terminal II only
flew the Denpasar route on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
and Sunday between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Moreira arrived at the airport on Saturday afternoon aboard a
KLM airlines flight at 5:15 p.m. It was his third visit to
Indonesia.

He appeared nervous when his seven bags and two paraglider
bars passed through the X-ray machine. When he was asked to show
his passport, Moreira fled the scene and back into the terminal.

Officers could not track him down inside the airport, as many
passengers had just disembarked from a Garuda flight.

Since nothing looked suspicious on the X-ray machine, the
officers decided to cut the bars and found 19 plastic bags of
white powder, which they initially thought was heroin, but was
later confirmed to be cocaine.

The customs and excise officers have closed down access to all
airports and seaports in the country in an effort to find
Moreira, who is still at large.

Jusuf said that Moreira was not only a courier, but that he
was part of an international drug syndicate.

"He's a Brazilian athlete," he said, showing Moreira's picture
in a Brazilian newspaper.

"Looking at his belongings, it's impossible that he came
alone. Somebody would have picked him up on arrival."

If Moreira is caught, he will be charged under Law No. 22/1997
on narcotics, which carries a maximum death penalty.