JAKARTA: A Malaysian pilot who tested positive for meth, MDMA and cocaine after flying a passenger plane to Indonesia risks the death penalty for allegedly smuggling more than 70,000 ecstasy tablets in his suitcase.

The 39-year-old pilot, identified only by his initials, MSO, was arrested at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport shortly after arriving from Kuala Lumpur on Friday.

The airport customs office did not say which carrier the pilot worked for, but the flight number indicated it was a Malaysia Airlines plane.

“The results of his urine test came back positive for meth, MDMA and cocaine. So, at the time of the flight, he was under the influence,” Hengky Tomuan Parlindungan Aritonang, an official at the airport customs office, told reporters in the Indonesian capital.

Customs officials found 14 bags of ecstasy — more than 70,000 pills — in the pilot’s suitcase, and four grams of meth, thought to be for personal use, in his hand luggage.

Hengky said the pilot likely did not expect to be checked in the special customs lane for pilots and crew, “but the monitoring we carry out is the same” for everyone.

In a statement to investigators, the man said this was the third time he had attempted to smuggle drugs, the second to Indonesia and once in Malaysia.

Awaludin Amin, of the police drug crimes unit, said investigators suspected the pilot to be part of an international syndicate, and he has been charged with smuggling.

Under Indonesian law, he risks the death penalty or life imprisonment.

Published in Dawn, August 1st, 2026