Plane passenger caught with ecstasy

TANGERANG (JP): A male passenger of a Garuda Indonesia flight heading for the East Java capital of Surabaya was arrested for possession of 400 ecstasy pills in the departure hall of Soekarno-Hatta Airport on Wednesday.

Tangerang Police chief detective Capt. Krisnadi said the suspect, Hendy Septian, 36, was apprehended as he was about to enter the plane.

"The suspect, who looked suspicious, first tried to fob off a police officer, who wanted to frisk him," the officer said.

Krisnadi, however, did not explain why the suspect had to be frisked in terminal F's departure lounge or what the officer was doing there.

According to Krisnadi, the suspect later agreed to a body search after the officer promised to do it politely.

The officer then found the pills inside Hendy's jeans pocket, he said.

The suspect was taken to the airport's police substation before he was taken to the Tangerang Police Station for further questioning.

"So far, the suspect has been tight-lipped about the pills and about whether they were for his own use or if he intended to sell them in Surabaya," officer Krisnadi said. (41/jun)