A private jet seized in Laos with 521kg of crystal methamphetamine left Subang empty, says Saifuddin Nasution, as Malaysian police investigate the case.
PETALING JAYA: A private jet detained in Laos with drugs on board had departed Subang without any narcotics, which were loaded onto the aircraft only after it landed in Laos, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said.
He said the aircraft was travelling from Subang to Laos before continuing to Manila, where the drugs were allegedly destined for the local market.
“The jet did depart from Subang, with Laos as its destination and Manila as its final destination. However, when it departed from Subang for Laos, it was empty and did not carry any drugs,” he said at a press conference after visiting the Home Ministry’s Madani Adopted Village and Adopted School Programme in Machang, Kelantan, today.
Saifuddin said media reports about the aircraft being detained in Laos had created the impression that the drugs originated from Subang.
“In fact, the cargo was loaded onto the aircraft after it landed in Laos. It was there that Lao authorities detected the drugs, which were destined for the Manila market,” he said.
He added that the director of the police Narcotics Crime Investigation Department had promptly clarified the matter, but reports had already circulated.
Saifuddin said police had traced the aircraft’s owner, pilot and co-pilot following the incident because the jet had departed from Subang.
“That is the focus of our investigation. Since the aircraft was registered in Malaysia, the police are investigating who chartered it, the purpose of the charter and its intended destination.
“The matter remains under police investigation,” he said.
On Oct 1, Lao police seized 521kg of crystal methamphetamine from a private Learjet that had arrived from Subang.
Following the seizure, 13 people, including Malaysian, Singaporean and Filipino nationals, were detained by Lao authorities to assist in investigations into the alleged cross-border drug smuggling operation.
On Oct 7, police arrested a local man believed to own the private jet during a raid at Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang.