Malaysia Airlines pilot faces execution in Indonesia over drug smuggling

A Malaysian pilot is facing the death penalty in Indonesia after authorities accused him of smuggling more than 70,000 ecstasy pills into the country, allegedly while under the influence of methamphetamine, MDMA and cocaine.

The 39-year-old pilot, identified only by the initials MSO, was arrested on July 29 at Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport shortly after arriving on a flight from Kuala Lumpur, Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media.

Indonesian customs officials did not name the airline, but the flight number corresponded to a Malaysia Airlines service.

Airport customs official Hengky Tomuan Parlindungan Aritonang said the pilot tested positive for methamphetamine, MDMA and cocaine.

"The results of his urine test came back positive for meth, MDMA, and cocaine. So, at the time of the flight, he was under the influence," Aritonang told reporters.

"What concerns all of us is that this person's profession is a pilot, and at the time he arrived, he had just flown that plane from Kuala Lumpur to Indonesia," he added.

Customs officers said they discovered 14 packages containing more than 70,000 ecstasy tablets in the pilot's suitcase, along with four grams of methamphetamine in his hand luggage, which investigators believe was intended for personal use.

Aritonang made it clear that the pilot may have expected to avoid inspection by using the customs lane designated for pilots and flight crews.

"But the monitoring we carry out is the same" for everyone, he said.

According to investigators, the suspect admitted this was his third attempt to smuggle drugs, including two trips to Indonesia and one in Malaysia.

Police spokesman Awaludin confirmed that authorities believe MSO was acting as part of an international drug trafficking syndicate. He has been formally charged with drug smuggling and, under Indonesian law, faces either the death penalty or life imprisonment.

Investigators noted that the pilot told them he had been promised 50,000 Malaysian ringgit (about $12,000) to deliver the narcotics in Jakarta.

Malaysia Airlines said in a statement on Friday that it was treating the allegations seriously and had launched an internal review.

"Malaysia Airlines will extend its full cooperation to the relevant authorities in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations," the airline stressed, declining further comment while the Indonesian investigation is ongoing.

Indonesia has some of the world's strictest anti-drug laws, including capital punishment for drug traffickers, although it has observed a moratorium on executions for several years.

The country last carried out executions for drug offences in 2016, when one Indonesian and three Nigerian nationals were executed by firing squad.

Earlier this year, two British nationals were sentenced to nine and 11 years in prison after being convicted of smuggling cocaine into the tourist island of Bali. In June, Indonesian police also arrested two Russian nationals accused of attempting to smuggle nearly eight kilograms of hashish to the island.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov