IN THE 2001 film, Blow, Johnny Depp plays the role of George Jung – a real-life American drug smuggler who helped distribute the Medellin cartel’s cocaine to the US during the 1980s.
One of his early smuggling routines was getting his cabin crew girlfriend to casually walk through the special customs lanes reserved for airline staff with a bag full of narcotics. By just smiling, waving and acting normal, the trick worked before Jung moved on to bigger things.
That same ploy was apparently used by a Malaysian pilot in a bold attempt to smuggle contraband into Indonesia on Friday (July 31) but rather less successfully.
According to newswire AFP, the 39-year-old pilot allegedly attempted to smuggle through 70,000 MDMA a.k.a. ecstasy pills as well as 4gm of meth in his suitcase and hand luggage.
Indonesian customs official revealed that the pilot likely did not expect to be checked in the special customs lane for pilots and crew, “but the monitoring we carry out is the same” for everyone.
That wasn’t the only shocking revelation as a urine test conducted on the pilot showed up positive for meth, MDMA and cocaine, an indication that he was commandeering a commercial jet full of innocent civilians while under the influence of narcotics.
“The results of his urine test came back positive for meth, MDMA and cocaine. So, at the time of the flight, he was under the influence,” Hengky Tomuan Parlindungan Aritonang, an official at the airport customs office, told reporters in Jakarta.
Pilot’s face revealed
The other shocking revelation was that this wasn’t his first rodeo either. The pilot who works for Malaysia Airlines confessed to investigators that this was the third time he had attempted to smuggle drugs, the second to Indonesia and once in Malaysia.
The budding local version of George Jung faces possible death penalty or life imprisonment for his audacious crimes. His trailblazing adventure across the skies was widely shared on social media, including on Threads by @mfahadnainb.
The poster wondered just how much drugs were “slipping through the cracks every single day” if this pilot was confident of walking through customs with that much contraband while under the influence.
An excited passenger shared that he was on the same flight as the detained pilot. At least, he now has an anecdote to entertain everyone with and perhaps, even a little claim to fame to have been flown by Malaysia’s version of George Jung.
The main thing that seemed to concern ordinary travellers was that a professional pilot on a commercial flight had risked the lives of passengers by flying under the influence of drugs.
Another commenter shuddered to think of the consequences while hoping that this was an isolated case.
One concerned citizen quite rightly pointed to the reputational damage to MAS caused by this episode. Another wondered if he should ever fly with the national flag carrier again after hearing of this scary episode.
This led to commenters who wondered what was the screening process for MAS pilots and employees. One even observed that the pilot had the tell-tale signs of a drug addict including such as a thin frame. Aren’t there procedures in place?
The other thing that was on the minds of netizens was the motivation behind this drug smuggling venture. Why risk it all for “as little as RM50K” considering that commercial pilots are a well-paid lot?
As summarised by one exasperated commenter, there are numerous glaring issues. Firstly, a pilot was high on drugs while on his scheduled flight.
Secondly, are there not tests to determine if a pilot is fit to fly before scheduled flights? Thirdly, how did he slip pass Malaysian customs with 25kg of drugs in his bag?
This smuggling adventures of one of its pilots will certainly dent public confidence in MAS. Hopefully this eye-opening incident will force the relevant authorities and airlines to conduct more thorough checks and screening pre-flight.
For the moment, a captivated public is left to digest the fact that a Malaysian pilot who is “entrusted with hundreds of passengers allegedly thought smuggling 25kg of drugs through one of the region’s busiest airports was a solid plan”. – Aug 1, 2026
