Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng has called on Malaysian airport authorities to release CCTV footage showing the security screening of a pilot who allegedly left the country with more than 70,000 ecstasy pills before being arrested in Indonesia.
His call came after the Border Control and Protection Agency (MCBA) yesterday confirmed that the 39-year-old Malaysian had passed all mandatory security checks at Kuala Lumpur International Airport before departure.
“If all security procedures were indeed followed, there is no reason why the CCTV footage showing the suspect undergoing screening and his baggage being scanned at KLIA should not be made public,” Lim said in a statement today.
The pilot was arrested at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on July 28 after flying 170 passengers there.
Indonesian authorities allegedly found more than 70,000 ecstasy pills and 2.7g of methamphetamine in his possession.
Early luggage check-in
Separately, Bukit Aman Narcotics Crime Investigation Department director Hussein Omar Khan said the pilot is believed to have obtained the drugs at an apartment in Ampang last Wednesday.
Hussein said investigations found that the suspect had a scheduled flight to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, before travelling to Jakarta later the same day.
According to Hussein, before departing for Kota Kinabalu, the suspect had already checked in his Jakarta-bound luggage containing the drugs.
“Police managed to trace that the suspect collected the supply at an apartment area in Ampang. We have also obtained the phone number the suspect had contacted.
“The suspect is believed to have completed an ‘early check-in’ of his luggage at KLIA for the flight to Jakarta.
“He then had a flight to Kota Kinabalu that morning, before returning to KLIA and departing for Jakarta at night,” he was quoted as saying by Harian Metro during a press conference at the Selangor police contingent headquarters today.
Drugs may have evaded scanners
Yesterday, MCBA director-general Shuhaily Zain said neither the pilot nor his luggage raised any red flags during pre-departure screening.
“During the screening, which was carried out as usual using a scanner, the items or bag he was carrying did not produce any suspicious images.
“Therefore, he passed the normal screening conducted by the security authorities at KLIA,” Shuhaily said.
He said investigators were still trying to determine how the drugs had allegedly escaped detection.
“Anyone intending to carry prohibited items may conceal them. It could be the way the items were wrapped that prevented the scanner from detecting them.
“So his modus operandi in wrapping or concealing the MDMA and methamphetamine is something we are still waiting for information on from the police,” he added.
Let public judge
Lim, however, said the public should not be expected to rely solely on official assurances.
“The CCTV footage is the clearest evidence of how the screening was conducted and whether all security procedures were indeed followed,” he stressed.
He urged the authorities to release the footage in full, without edits that could affect the context of the screening.
“If there are genuinely sensitive portions, those sections can be blurred without concealing the entire screening process.
“Transparency will help safeguard public confidence in security at KLIA. Release the footage and let the public see and judge for themselves,” he added.
Indonesian footage, drug test
The Indonesian Customs Department has already released CCTV footage showing a man in a pilot uniform being detained after an inspection of two pieces of luggage allegedly uncovered 14 packages of drugs weighing about 25kg and valued at an estimated 60 billion rupiah (RM13.6 million).
Soekarno-Hatta Main Customs and Excise Office head Hengky Tomuan Parlindungan Aritonang told Malaysiakini that the suspect is being detained at the Indonesian National Police Criminal Investigation Agency headquarters.
“Our office is cooperating with the police in an ongoing investigation,” he said.
Aritonang also shared a brief video appearing to show the suspect being presented with a positive Narcotics Identification Kit-U (NIK-U) test result for a substance recovered from his possession.
The NIK-U is a preliminary field test used to detect the possible presence of methamphetamine. A positive result is presumptive and may be followed by laboratory analysis for confirmation.
The Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta is seeking consular access to the suspect, who could face the death penalty if convicted.
Preliminary investigations have also reportedly recorded an admission that he had made two previous attempts and was allegedly linked to an international drug trafficking network. - Mkini
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