KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 3 — Malaysian police are investigating whether a drug syndicate used flight crews and air routes to smuggle narcotics after a Malaysia Airlines pilot was accused of transporting RM45 million worth of ecstasy into Indonesia.
The Bukit Aman Narcotics Crime Investigation Department is seeking CCTV footage from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) to establish how the alleged smuggling operation was carried out, Utusan Malaysia reported today.
The department’s director, Datuk Hussein Omar Khan, said checks showed that the pilot had no previous criminal record with the Royal Malaysia Police.
“For now, everything is still being handled by the Narcotics Crime Investigation Department team,” he said.
“We cannot disclose anything yet, and the subject has no record with the police.”
The pilot reportedly faces the death penalty or life imprisonment in Indonesia after allegedly smuggling more than 70,000 ecstasy pills weighing 25kg.
The drugs were estimated to be worth RM45 million.
Hengky Tomuan Parlindungan Aritonang, an officer with Customs at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, said the pilot tested positive for methamphetamine, MDMA and cocaine.
Malaysian police have received official information from the Indonesian authorities and opened an investigation to identify the source of the drugs and those believed to have directed the suspect.
The inquiry will also examine whether a syndicate in Malaysia had been using flight crew members or air routes to move drugs across borders.
