Police seek extradition of Garuda pilot from Holland

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian police are striving to persuade the Dutch authorities to extradite the Indonesian pilot arrested Sunday at Schipol airport for allegedly trying to smuggle 8,000 Ecstasy pills to Jakarta.

"We'll do our best to bring the suspect here to be tried even though the crime took place in the Netherlands," the head of the National Police crime investigation directorate, Brig. Gen. Rusdihardjo, told reporters yesterday.

The police effort is in line with an existing law which permits an Indonesian court to try a citizen for a crime committed overseas, said Rusdihardjo.

Although Indonesia and the Netherlands have no extradition treaty, Rusdihardjo believes that the close relationship between the two countries could help realize the Indonesian police's wish.

Following his arrest by the Dutch police, the suspect, identified as Mohammad Said, 49, a senior pilot of the national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, was fired from his job.

The news was announced by Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto yesterday.

According to Garuda records, Said has around 20,000 flying hours and was one of the carrier's 672 senior pilots, having served in the company for 25 years.

He was arrested at the Amsterdam airport for allegedly attempting to conceal 8,000 Ecstasy pills in his clothes shortly before he flew Garuda's B-747 airplane to Medan and Denpasar in Indonesia via Paris.

The police examined Said together with a number of Garuda flight personnel following tips that an international Ecstasy trafficking syndicate had hired some of the crew for their operation owing to the privileges enjoyed by the airline staff.

According to the secretary of NCB-Interpol for Indonesia, Brig. Gen. Ahwil Luthan, the suspect might face a tougher punishment here than in the Netherlands.

"He might only face a maximum imprisonment of around three months from a Netherlands court," Ahwil told The Jakarta Post yesterday.

Although there is no Indonesian law which explicitly bans the mood-altering stimulant Ecstasy, possessing, smuggling and trafficking the pills could be considered a breach of Health Law No. 23/1992, which prohibits possessing, smuggling and trafficking drugs without a permit. The charges carry a maximum jail penalty of 15 years and fines of up to Rp 300 million (US$128,200).

Rusdihardjo suggested the Netherlands police should also allow Indonesian police to examine the content of the pills allegedly possessed by the Indonesian citizen at its laboratory in Jakarta.

According to Ahwil, the Indonesian NCB-Interpol have sent a message to their Dutch counterparts asking the Dutch police to disclose to Jakarta the preliminary results of their investigations.

"It's absolutely necessary for us to further investigate the other members of the syndicate here in Indonesia," said Ahwil.

Following the arrest of the Garuda pilot, the inspection of all flight crew and attendants at airports will be tightened, said Rusdihardjo.

"For many years, Garuda's flight crews and attendants had a very good reputation among the world's commercial airlines," said the one-star general.

The issue of the alleged role of flight personnel on airplanes plying Indonesia - Europe routes in the trafficking of Ecstasy pills to Indonesia has existed for some time.

A 15-year-old girl was quoted by a local paper recently that she got Ecstasy pills from her boyfriend, who is a flight attendant.

"It's not impossible that flight personnel of foreign airlines have done the same illegal business although it's hard for us to prove it," said Ahwil.

In a visit here last month, Dutch Minister of Health, Welfare and Sports E. Borst-Eilers suggested that both countries cooperate in dealing with Ecstasy trafficking.

"We think it's a very bad thing that some people export it from Amsterdam airport, for instance, to Indonesia. So, the customs services of Holland and Indonesia are going to work better together to prevent it," Borst said.

"We've made a serious effort, but apparently it's not enough. So you have to hit harder," the minister stressed. (bsr)