Three Malaysian citizens, one of whom is a pregnant woman, have been arrested by customs and excise officers at Lombok International Airport on allegations of attempting to smuggle 1.9 kilograms of  crystal methamphetamine onto the island.

They allegedly attempted to smuggle the crystal meth by hiding packages of the drug inside their underwear.

“We took the three Malaysians into custody shortly after they arrived at the airport via an AirAsia flight serving the Kuala Lumpur-Lombok route. They were found with 1.9 kg of crystal meth worth around Rp 3.5 billion [US$266,565],” Mataram Customs and Excise Office head Himawan Indarjono said on Tuesday.

He said the three suspects, comprising two men and one woman, and the confiscated drugs had been handed over to the West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) Police.

The suspects have been identified as Koo Jia Jiat, 21, Leslie Chung Wai Nam ,24, and Wong Yin Ching alias Winnie, a 21 year-old woman later found to be pregnant.

Himawan said the drug smuggling attempt was aborted after custom and excise officers at the airport’s arrival terminal grew suspicious over the movements of the three Malaysians.

“Their luggage passed the X-ray checks. However, their movements triggered suspicions so they were all asked to undergo a body screening. It was later found that they hid packages of meth in the crotch area of their underwear,” he further said.

During interrogation, Himawan said, the suspects admitted they had smuggled meth into Lombok several times, with the last operation taking place in July.

The West Nusa Tenggara Police’s narcotics divison director, Sr.Comr. Agus Pradjito, said his side would investigate the case further.  (ebf)