Malaysian Airlines (MAS) said today (June 30) in a statement to mStar Online to confirm the news that one of their flight attendants has been arrested. The man was caught allegedly smuggling US$1.4million (RM5.6 million) worth of heroin into Australia. The incident had reportedly took place on May 13 but MAS only confirmed it now.
The 33-year-old Malaysian man was arrested at the Melbourne International Airport after allegedly bringing 3.5kg of heroin on board a commercial flight, Daily Mail reported. The Australian Border Force officers said that they were triggered by the man’s suspicious behaviour after the flight had arrived from Kuala Lumpur.
One witness described the man’s behaviour, saying that “looked like he knew something was about to happen” before he was arrested with his bag. “He went to the bag but left it at the carousel for a few minutes. They waited for him to pick up the bag before they arrested him,” the witness said.
The officers searched the man and allegedly found 10 suspicious packets wrapped in masking tape on the man. After undergoing preliminary testing, the results indicated that the packets contain heroin. The MAS flight attendant has been charged with possessing and importing a commercial quantity of heroin and is due to appear in court on the 6th of August.
MAS however, clarified that they cannot share further details as investigations are still on going but they are already giving the authorities full cooperation to help them with the case. “Malaysia Airlines has very strict policies and guidelines that govern staff conduct and all staff are required to adhere to the airline’s code of business conduct with the highest level of integrity,” they added.
With that amount of drugs, it looks like the suspect is in deep trouble!
Also read: Malaysian Pilot Arrested at Airport for Possessing Drugs and Meth Bong