Airport customs head Bahaduri Wijayanta named the two suspects as Oen B. Giap, who works as a welder, and Wong CH, an air conditioner technician.

The suspects arrived on a Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong on Thursday.

“The suspects confessed to investigators that they were promised MYR 16,000 [Rp 45 million] if they handed the drugs to a connection in Jakarta,” Bahaduri said.

“They were apparently part of an international drug-smuggling syndicate,” he said.

He said his office received a tip-off on the two suspects before they arrived in Jakarta.

He said officers spotted them easily as both looked suspicious with bulky waistlines due to the drug packets.

He said the suspects would be charged with violating the 2009 Narcotics Law. If found guilty, they face the death sentence.

Frans Rupang, airport customs director of prosecution, said airport customs officers had busted 20 drug smuggling attempts since January this year.

“This is the eighth crystal meth smuggling attempt we have foiled in the last four months,” he said.

He said that in the airport busts, officers seized a total of 70.8 kilograms of crystal meth, 668 grams of heroin, 163 grams of cocaine, 37 kilograms of ketamine and 14.4 kilograms of marijuana. The total value of the seized contraband is Rp 183 billion.

“The total value of drugs seized by customs officers nationwide is Rp 483 billion. Soekarno-Hatta International Airport accounts for 42 percent of the haul,” he added.

Waist-ed: Armed Customs and Excise officers escort two Malaysian drug suspects at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, on Friday. The two suspects, arrested Thursday, were caught while trying to smuggle drugs strapped around their waists. JP/Multa Fidrus

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