SHAH ALAM, Aug 4 — Federal police said today they have identified a person of interest in their investigation into how a Malaysian pilot arrested with drugs at an Indonesian airport passed through security screening at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) without his baggage being flagged.
Bukit Aman Narcotics Crime Investigation Department director Commissioner Datuk Hussein Omar Khan said the person of interest is an airport employee in his 30s who was assigned to the security screening area through which the pilot passed.
“We will call him in for questioning and if required, make the necessary arrest,” he told a press conference at the Selangor contingent headquarters here.
Citing Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency (AKPS) director-general Datuk Seri Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain, Hussein said the pilot’s baggage was not flagged as high risk and was cleared under existing standard operating procedures without undergoing a secondary inspection.
He said the suspect cleared all four security screening stages at the dedicated staff lane, where the inspection procedures are the same as those for passengers.
“We have yet to receive information from our Indonesian counterparts as to how they were able to detect the baggage.”
Nevertheless, Hussein said discussions had been held with the Transport Ministry on measures to further enhance security checks at airport terminals.
“One of the discussion points was to determine whether, in terms of security screening, drugs should be given priority alongside firearms and smuggled currencies.
“All those present agreed that these areas should be given greater priority moving forward,” he said.
Asked about the latest developments in the probe, Hussein said initial investigations found that the pilot had obtained the drugs from an undisclosed location in Ampang two days before his arrest on July 28.
Hussein added that the pilot travelled to Kota Kinabalu after checking in the baggage containing the drugs at KLIA before returning to the airport the same day to depart for Jakarta.
He said police were investigating the entire distribution network, including how the suspect obtained the drugs locally, bypassed security screening at KLIA and whether he had links to an international syndicate in Indonesia, with assistance from the Indonesian authorities.
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.
Malaysia Airlines has said it is cooperating with the authorities and has launched an internal investigation.
