KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 3 — Malaysian authorities are examining how a pilot arrested with drugs at an Indonesian airport passed through security screening at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) without his baggage being flagged, according to The Star.

Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency (AKPS) director-general Datuk Seri Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain said checks confirmed that the pilot underwent all required screening before boarding the aircraft on July 28.

“In the required screening that was conducted as per usual with our scanner machine, there had been no suspicious images that had shown up when the bag was screened.

“Due to that, it passed through the checks. We are waiting for the response from the police so that we can study how he had passed through the screenings without being flagged,” he told a press conference at KLIA Terminal 1 in Sepang today.

Mohd Shuhaily said the screening system combined artificial intelligence with human assessment, with the scanner assigning a risk level to baggage before security personnel decided whether further inspection was required.

“The system uses AI to a certain extent, but it is not like what people see on television. It still requires the operator’s judgement.

“AI assists the process, but the final decision rests with the screening officer,” he said.

Since the baggage did not receive a higher-risk classification, officers cleared it in accordance with existing standard operating procedures without carrying out a secondary inspection, he added.

Mohd Shuhaily said the drugs might have been concealed in a way that prevented them from appearing on the scanner, although police would determine how they escaped detection.

“The police is in the midst of sending over an officer from the Narcotics Crime Investigation Department to work with the Indonesian side.

“Rest assured all available systems have been used fully in the case. Further discussion will be conducted on how to improve upon the systems and machines in use,” he said.

The case involves a 39-year-old Malaysia Airlines pilot who was arrested shortly after arriving at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport from Kuala Lumpur on July 28.

Indonesian authorities said more than 26kg of ecstasy tablets and a small quantity of methamphetamine were found in a suitcase collected by the pilot after customs officers flagged it during an X-ray inspection. He has been detained while investigators examine the alleged trafficking network behind the consignment.

Malaysia Airlines has said it is cooperating with the authorities and has launched an internal investigation.

He defended the competence of airport screening personnel, saying AKPS officers had intercepted numerous attempts to transport drugs and other prohibited items.

Asked whether the case could have involved an inside job or “counter setting”, Mohd Shuhaily said AKPS would act against any officer found to have been involved.

“If the police see there is foul play involved from my officers then there will be no stones left unturned.

“I will not hesitate to share it with the media as well,” he said.