JAKARTA, thekabarnews.com—Indonesian investigators have named a Malaysian pilot as a suspect. Customs officers allegedly discovered more than 70,000 ecstasy pills in his luggage at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

Authorities identified the suspect as Mohd Saufi bin Othman, whom officials described as a pilot assigned to Malaysia Airlines flight MH727. Officers detained him at Terminal 3. The Kuala Lumpur–Jakarta service landed on Tuesday night, July 28.

At a press conference on Friday, July 31, the Soekarno-Hatta Customs Office (Bea Cukai) and the Indonesian National Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) said officers found 14 packages. These packages contained approximately 25 kilograms of suspected MDMA.

Officials reported slightly different preliminary totals, ranging from 70,114 to 70,144 tablets. The discrepancy requires confirmation through the investigators’ final evidence inventory. Authorities also reported finding several grams of suspected methamphetamine in the pilot’s suitcase.

Flight-tracking information identifies MH727 as a Malaysia Airlines service from Kuala Lumpur International Airport to Soekarno-Hatta. This route is typically operated with a Boeing 737-800.

Indonesian officials said the aircraft carried approximately 170 passengers on the flight connected to the investigation. FlightStats lists the route and scheduled arrival.

Customs officials said an initial urine screening returned positive results for methamphetamine, MDMA and cocaine.

Hengky Tomuan Parlindungan Aritonang, an official at the airport customs office, suggested the result indicated that the suspect may have recently consumed drugs.

“It means that, possibly, he was using drugs when he flew to Indonesia,” Hengky said during the press conference, Friday, July 31.

A positive urine result alone cannot prove that someone was intoxicated or impaired at a specific time. Urine tests can detect drugs or their metabolites after their immediate effects have ended.

The US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration states that drug testing generally cannot determine a person’s level of intoxication or impairment.

Authorities would therefore need additional toxicological evidence and an operational assessment. Investigators need additional toxicological evidence and an operational assessment to determine whether drug use impaired the pilot while he operated the aircraft.

Police transferred the suspect to the Bareskrim detention center in Jakarta. Investigators examine the origin and intended recipient of the shipment. Authorities said they were developing the case. Their goal is to identify other people allegedly involved in the cross-border network.

The seizure has also raised aviation-security questions over how the luggage passed through checks at its point of departure.

Indonesian investigators had not announced whether they would seek assistance from Malaysian police or aviation regulators at the time of publication.

Malaysia Airlines had not posted a public statement about the arrest or the suspect’s employment status on its official media center as of Friday.

The court has not convicted the suspect, who remains presumed innocent. Investigators must still confirm the substances through laboratory analysis. They must also reconcile the reported evidence totals and submit the case for prosecution before an Indonesian court.