Malaysian police investigate how pilot smuggled drugs past 4 layers of airport checks

Malaysian police have identified a Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) security screener as a person of interest after a Malaysia-airlines" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="1518" data-entity-type="organization">Malaysia Airlines pilot allegedly carried more than 70,000 Ecstasy pills through four layers of checks before the drugs were intercepted in Jakarta.Bukit Aman narcotics chief Hussein Omar Khan said on Tuesday that the airport employee assigned to the screening area used by the pilot would be summoned and could face legal action. “We will call him in for questioning and, if required, make the necessary arrest,” Hussein told local reporters.The case has focused scrutiny on the gap between airport screening designed to stop weapons and explosives from being carried on board and customs enforcement for narcotics. Questions have been raised too about whether organised crime was exploiting aircrew status to escape detection.Police said the 39-year-old pilot obtained the drugs from a flat in Ampang, near the capital of Kuala Lumpur, two days before his arrest. He checked the suitcase in at KLIA, left it there, flew to Kota Kinabalu and returned before departing for Jakarta with the same baggage, according to Bernama state news agency.Malaysia’s Border Control and Protection Agency said on Monday that the pilot and his baggage passed every required check before departure, with no suspicious image generated and no secondary inspection triggered.