SEPANG - Malaysia plans more comprehensive airport screening for pilots and cabin crew.
The Border Control and Protection Agency, known as AKPS, said an interagency meeting on August 3 was reviewing measures to strengthen existing airport security procedures nationwide.
The meeting was chaired by Transport Ministry secretary-general Jana Santhiran Muniayan and involved AKPS, the Royal Malaysia Police and Malaysia Aviation Group. AKPS director-general Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain said screening procedures would be enhanced “in the near future,” but officials did not announce an implementation date or final measures.
Mohd Shuhaily said pilots, crew members and other staff covered by the review would undergo more comprehensive checks. Flight crews are already subject to airport screening, but the review is considering how existing procedures can be tightened following the arrest of a Malaysian pilot in Indonesia.
The 39-year-old pilot was arrested at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport after arriving on a flight from Kuala Lumpur. The Indonesian National Police said customs officers detected suspicious contents during an X-ray examination of his baggage.
Indonesian authorities said they found 14 packages containing 70,114 ecstasy pills with a net weight of 25,194.83 grams, or about 25.2 kilograms, as well as a separate package containing methamphetamine.
The suspect, identified only by his initials, was detained while authorities continued investigating the alleged trafficking operation.
Mohd Shuhaily said the pilot had passed standard screening at Kuala Lumpur International Airport and that the scanner produced no suspicious images. He later clarified that the baggage check was conducted by Malaysia Airports’ Aviation Security team, known as AVSEC, rather than customs officers operating under AKPS.
Malaysian police were investigating how the baggage cleared screening and preparing to send officers to work with Indonesian narcotics authorities. Malaysia Airlines has said it is cooperating with investigators and conducting an internal review, according to independent reporting on the case.
