521kg meth seized from jet that flew from Subang to Laos, M'sian among 13 nabbed

Police in Laos seized a private jet and arrested 13 people - including a Malaysian - as part of a drug bust involving over half a tonne of crystal methamphetamine, according to media reports.

The arrest and seizure followed the arrest of a Malaysia Airlines pilot in July for suspected smuggling, though Bukit Aman has yet to establish whether the cases are linked.

“It is too early for us to say whether there is a connection.

“At this point, the information we have is that a Malaysian has been detained there, but he was not among those who travelled from Malaysia on the flight concerned,” the New Straits Times quoted narcotics crime investigation department director Hussein Omar Khan.

Malaysiakini’s checks found that the aircraft is registered to a US-based trust designed to obfuscate the owner’s identity.

According to a report by Vientiane Times, citing the government-linked Lao Security Newspaper, Lao authorities seized the drugs at Luang Prabang International Airport on Oct 1 and detained 13 people, including the pilot, co-pilot, a foreign tourist, company employees, and airport staff.

This took place as the drugs were being loaded onto the aircraft after it had arrived from Malaysia. According to Hussein, it had taken off from Subang Airport.

Provincial police had received a tip-off on Sept 21 regarding alleged plans by a group to smuggle narcotics across the border via a private aircraft departing from Malaysia. Specialised units were then instructed to monitor the situation.

During surveillance at the airport, officers saw two vehicles arrive, and 23 suitcases moved through an X-ray machine before being loaded onto the aircraft, after which the vehicles left.

Police subsequently inspected the luggage and found crystal methamphetamine in 21 of the 23 suitcases. The 500 packs of drugs weighed a total of 521kg, while the remaining two suitcases contained personal belongings weighing about 180kg.

The Learjet and a pickup truck were also seized as evidence.

70k ecstasy pills

On July 28, Indonesian authorities arrested a Malaysia Airlines pilot in Indonesia for allegedly attempting to smuggle more than 70,000 ecstasy pills weighing about 25kg.

Indonesian authorities also found 2.74g of methamphetamine and 0.0825g of methamphetamine residue in a glass pipe when the suspect was arrested at Terminal 3 of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

Last month, Hussein said that police were probing the possibility of insider involvement in the case, after identifying an airport employee as a person of interest in the investigation into how the pilot had allegedly passed through KLIA security with drugs in his luggage.

He said KLIA’s inspection procedures need improvement as the existing screening system traditionally focused on firearms, explosives, and other aviation security threats.

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