JAKARTA — Authorities in Indonesia have arrested a second Malaysian in less than a week for allegedly smuggling methamphetamine and ecstasy pills into the country, a crime that carries the death penalty in the Muslim-majority Southeast Asian nation.
A 22-year-old identified only as “DI” was detained in Surabaya, Indonesia’s second-largest city, on Monday shortly after landing on a flight from Kuala Lumpur, airport security task force head Novi Manunggal said in a statement.
Acting on a tipoff, officials at the airport found “methamphetamine and ecstasy pills attached to the suspect’s body,” Novi’s statement said.
“DI” was found with four packs, or 990 grams (34.9 ounces), of crystal meth and four packets containing 1,089 ecstasy pills, he said.
The person has been charged with smuggling more than five grams of drugs, which in Indonesia carries a death sentence.
Authorities arrested a 39-year-old Malaysian pilot last week with more than 70,000 ecstasy tablets in his suitcase at Jakarta Airport.
The case was uncovered late Tuesday when customs officers inspecting baggage at the international arrival’s terminal of Soekarno-Hatta Airport noticed a suspicious suitcase during an X-ray screening. The luggage was later collected by the suspect, whom police identified as a pilot for Malaysian Airlines on flight MH727 from Kuala Lumpur to Jakarta.
Indonesia has some of the world’s toughest anti-drug laws, including the death penalty for traffickers, but has maintained a moratorium on executions for several years.
The country last carried out the death sentence for drug offences in 2016, when one Indonesian and three Nigerians were executed by firing squad.
Source: Saudi Gazette