Malaysian authorities vowed to identify and close security loopholes in its airports after a pilot allegedly transported drugs from the country before being arrested in Indonesia last week.
“Malaysia Airlines will also revise their protocols for background and health checks on pilots and co-pilots,” Fahmi said.
Authorities said the 39-year-old Malaysian pilot passed through several layers of checks at Kuala Lumpur International Airport before his departure to Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, where he was caught with drugs in his luggage.
The Malaysian police on Tuesday identified an airport employee as a person of interest while investigating how the pilot passed through checks with drugs in his luggage, according to a New Straits Times report.
Indonesian authorities said on Friday they had arrested a Malaysia Airlines pilot accused of smuggling more than 26kg (57lbs) of Ecstasy and a package of methamphetamine shortly after he landed in Jakarta’s international airport.