January 13, 2026 | 09:14 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A Pakistani couple, Javed Muhammad (35) and Bibi Saima (28), are suspects in a drug smuggling case following an arrest by the Indonesian National Police's Drug Crime Directorate (Bareskrim). Police detained them at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on January 6, 2026, and declared them suspects one day later.
Director of the National Police's Drug Crime Directorate, Brigadier General Eko Santoso, explained that the pair used the body packing method for internal concealment. "They smuggled drugs by swallowing them. The drugs were tightly packed in many small packages designed to sit within the stomach or intestinal tract," Eko said in a statement on Friday, January 9, 2026.
An investigator familiar with the case mentioned that the couple posed as honeymooners during immigration checks. "They claimed to come to Indonesia for their honeymoon. They initially passed the first examination," the investigator said when contacted on Monday.
Investigation results show that Javed and Bibi Saima admitted to serving as drug couriers to Indonesia twice. Their first delivery was in April 2025. During that trip, they swallowed 71 methamphetamine capsules; Javed carried 50 and Bibi Saima carried 21. Upon arrival, they stayed at a Jakarta hotel, retrieved the capsules through defecation, and handed them to a recipient.
During the second attempt, Customs and Police officers detected the smuggling. Police arrested them at the airport before any transaction occurred. In this instance, they smuggled 159 methamphetamine capsules, with 97 in Javed's body and 62 in Bibi Saima's body.
To retrieve the capsules, the National Police brought the couple to the Bhayangkara TK I Police Hospital. Medical personnel removed the packages through defecation following health procedures. Each capsule contained 10-11 grams of methamphetamine. Overall, the couple attempted to smuggle 1,639.23 grams of the substance.
Head of Subdirectorate IV, Commissioner General Handik Zusen, said the couple flew the Lahore-Bangkok-Indonesia route. The National Police charged them under Article 114 of the Narcotics Law. "We will not stop at these two foreign nationals. The Drug Crime Directorate will coordinate with the Pakistani police through the National Police's International Relations Division," Handik said.
Read: How Importers Smuggle Fishery Commodities into Indonesia
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