SINGAPORE: Ngurah Rai International Airport customs and excise personnel have arrested a Singapore Airlines (SIA) cabin crew member on allegations of smuggling drugs into Bali.
The suspect, identified as Goh Tiam Ann Desmond, a 42-year-old Singaporean citizen, was arrested upon arrival on Singapore Airlines flight SQ 948, at Ngurah Rai airport on Friday. Desmond was not on duty during his arrest and had intended on vacationing in Bali.
Customs and excise chief Budi Harjanto said Desmond was arrested for the possession of 1.47 grams of crystal methamphetamine and 2.09 grams of ecstasy pills. “We found the drugs inside his wallet,” Budi said.
He said officers’ suspicions arose on account of the Singaporean citizen’s “strange gestures” while passing through the customs and excise desk. They later detected suspicious items inside his luggage during an X-ray.
“When we checked, it was apparently a bong hidden inside piles of his clothes,” Budi said. Officers later conducted a body search, during which they reportedly found one plastic bag containing 1.47 grams of crystal meth, one plastic bag containing two ecstasy pills weighing 1.01 grams and another plastic with two ecstasy pills weighing 1.08 grams. The drugs were said to have been hidden inside a wallet.
Budi said the suspect admitted that he bought the drugs in Singapore. “He brought them into Bali as he wanted to use them during his vacation,” Budi said.
Desmond will be charged under Article 113 of the 2009 Narcotics Law, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment and Rp 10 billion (S$1 million) in fines.
