Tangerang - The Narcotics Crime Directorate of the National Police Criminal Investigation Unit together with the Soekarno Hatta Airport Customs revealed that the pilot of the Malaysian citizen with the initials MSO who was arrested for smuggling about 26 kilograms of ecstasy into Indonesia had actually done similar actions several times.
Even though he used a special flight crew lane, his actions were finally uncovered thanks to the intelligence analysis of the Soekarno-Hatta Airport Customs.
Head of Soekarno-Hatta Customs, Hengky Tomuan Parlindungan Aritonang, said the disclosure of the case began with an intelligence analysis of the pilot of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH727 route Kuala Lumpur-Jakarta.
From the results of the analysis, the officers suspected MSO's luggage and conducted an inspection.
Officers then found 14 packages containing more than 70 thousand ecstasy pills weighing around 26 kilograms in the suspect's suitcase. In addition, 4 grams of methamphetamine were also found in the handbag he was carrying.
"So the ordinary suitcase is covered with clothes on top of it. But with the amount of 26 kilograms, it is almost a full suitcase of ecstasy," said Hengky at the Soekarno-Hatta Airport Customs Building, Friday, July 31.
Hengky suspects that the suspect took drugs while flying the plane from Kuala Lumpur to Jakarta.
In addition, he also suspected that MSO was reckless in carrying narcotics because he felt it was easier to pass the examination as a pilot who used the special crew lane.
However, Hengky emphasized that supervision of flight crews was still carried out with the same standards as passengers.
As a follow-up, the Customs will tighten random inspections of pilots and cabin crew of international flights, including Indonesian airline crew.
However, the examination is not in the form of a drug test because the authority is in the Ministry of Transportation and the airline.
Meanwhile, Deputy Head of Sub-Directorate II of the Narcotics Division of the Criminal Investigation Unit of the National Police, Kombes Pol Awaludin Amin, said the results of the examination showed that MSO was not the first time to be a narcotics courier.
"From the results of the interrogation and BAP, the person concerned admitted that he had brought illegal goods to Indonesia three times. Two times to Jakarta and one time to other areas," said Awaludin.
Based on the data of investigators, the previous action also included smuggling of around 7 kilograms of methamphetamine to Jakarta as well as the delivery of narcotics to Sabah, Malaysia.
The police are still investigating the possibility of other shipments that the suspect has made.
Investigators also suspect that MSO is part of an international narcotics network. According to Awaludin, the status of the suspect is not just a courier, but is also suspected of playing a role as a distributor.
"Is there any indication of involvement in an international network? The suspicion is yes. Is he a dealer? Obviously," he said.
MSO is known to have been promised a payment of 50 thousand Malaysian ringgit or the equivalent of Rp. 220 million to deliver the narcotics to Indonesia.
Currently, the Criminal Investigation Unit is still developing the investigation to uncover other parties involved in the transnational syndicate.
In addition, the results of the urine test showed that MSO was positive for three types of narcotics, namely MDMA, methamphetamine, and cocaine.
For his actions, the suspect was charged with Article 113 paragraph 2 Jo 114 paragraph 2 jo 132 paragraph 1 subsider article 609 paragraph 2 of the Criminal Code with a maximum penalty of death.
The Deputy Director of Aviation Law of the Directorate General of Air Transportation, Dodi Dharma Cahyadi, said his party would coordinate with the Malaysian authorities regarding the handling of the case so that similar incidents would not recur.
"We coordinate not from Indonesia so we coordinate with Malaysia. Maybe by the way there is a punishment related to this so that it doesn't happen again and doesn't bring the plane," he concluded.
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