Malaysia investigators in Jakarta to interview pilot detained in drug case
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The uniform of a Malaysian pilot and the drugs he tried to smuggle into Indonesia being shown during a news conference in Jakarta on July 31.
PHOTO: AFP
- Four Malaysian police officers are in Jakarta to gather more information and verify statements about an international syndicate.
- Malaysian and Indonesian authorities are cooperating to identify the syndicate's members, who use false identities to make it harder for police to track them.
- Police continue to investigate the syndicate and drug suppliers in Malaysia, while keeping open the possibility of insider involvement.
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KUALA LUMPUR – Four investigating officers from the Bukit Aman Narcotics Crime Investigation Department (NCID) have arrived in Jakarta to interview a Malaysian pilot detained by Indonesia in connection with a drug case.
Bukit Aman NCID director Hussein Omar Khan said the interview was aimed at obtaining more information and comparing the statement obtained by Malaysian police with information from the pilot, particularly about a reported international syndicate.
Hussein said the Malaysian and Indonesian authorities are cooperating to identify the suspect’s links to this syndicate.
“We have been given access to meet the Malaysian on Aug 12 and 13... to interview him to obtain more information and compare what we have gathered here in terms of the syndicate and other matters,” he said at a news conference on Aug 11.
“We want to verify several other matters related to the case, so that we can obtain more detailed and accurate information from him,” he added.
Hussein said tracking down members of the syndicate is not easy, as they are now using false identities to register telephone numbers.
“It’s not as simple as us obtaining a telephone number, tracking down its owner and arresting them immediately,” he explained.
“They are using false identification numbers to register telephone numbers,” he added. “When the identity is false or inaccurate, it is not easy to trace the individual.”
He said police would continue tracking down the syndicate in Malaysia, including identifying drug suppliers, while working with the Indonesian authorities to trace the international network linked to the case.
It is still too early to confirm or deny the involvement of an “insider” in the case, said Hussein.
“If someone else was involved, I would need solid evidence to say that an insider was involved,” he said.
He added: “At the same time, I am not ruling out the possibility that there was no insider involvement.” THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK