Pubdate: Sun, 05 Feb 2012
Source: Jakarta Globe (Indonesia)
Copyright: 2012 Jakarta Globe
Contact:  http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5226
Authors: Tri Listiyarini, Amir Tejo, Farouk Arnaz & Heru Andriyanto

INDONESIA'S AVIATION INDUSTRY URGES GOVT TO HALT SPREAD OF DRUGS

Indonesia's aviation industry has admitted concern over widespread 
drug use, and the House of Representatives will summon Lion Air 
management after the arrest of a Lion pilot for drug use in Surabaya 
on Saturday, the second such case in two months.

Indonesia National Air Carriers Association secretary general Tengku 
Burhanuddin said the use of drugs among airline crews had tainted the 
industry's image, and he called on the government to take quick 
action to crack down on the circulation of drugs.

"This case has shown that drugs have become a national problem 
because it could have been among anybody, including pilots," he said. 
"We call on the government to do its part and not just depend on us."

Tengku asked the government to permanently ban pilots by withdrawing 
their licenses instead of just temporarily grounding them if they 
were caught using illicit drugs.

"License withdrawal and being blacklisted from all airlines would be 
a very heavy punishment that could prevent more widespread use of 
drugs," Tengku said.

Police in Surabaya arrested the Lion Air pilot, identified as 
44-year-old Syaiful Salam, who had been caught with 0.4 grams of 
methamphetamine and a meth pipe in a Surabaya hotel room during a 
pre-dawn bust on Saturday. He was scheduled to go on duty at 6 a.m.

Sr. Comr. Bambang Triyanto, the East Java Police's anti-narcotics 
director, confirmed on Saturday that the raid had been carried out 
jointly with the BNNP, the provincial branch of the National 
Narcotics Agency (BNN).

Jan D. Fretes, the head of the BNNP, said officials were treating the 
case seriously because of the safety implications had the pilot flown 
while under the influence.

"This relates to public safety and we want to avoid an air accident 
caused by the actions of a pilot who is high on drugs," he said.

Jan said the bust had been based on information from a Lion Air pilot 
who was arrested last month for meth possession.

Jan said Syaiful claimed to have bought the drugs from a Surabaya 
dealer identified only as Y.S. Police are still looking for the dealer.

"He said the dealer delivered the drugs to his room and he paid Rp 
300,000 [$34] for them," he said. He confirmed that Syaiful later 
tested positive for drug use.

Another pilot, Hanum Aiyaksa, was arrested in a Makassar hotel on 
Jan. 10 with an undisclosed amount of meth.

Last September, a Lion Air pilot and two co-pilots were arrested in 
possession of ecstasy and meth. They had bought the drugs prior to 
flying from Jakarta to Surabaya, but the airline denied they were 
high during the flight.

Muhammad Arwani Thomafi, a member of the House commission overseeing 
transportation, said lawmakers would summon the Transportation 
Minister and Lion Air management.

"We had summoned them previously due to a similar case with a pilot. 
Why should the same case happen again?" he said.
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart