Jabberwocky
Frumious Bandersnatch
- Joined
- Nov 3, 1999
- Messages
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Four Jetstar flight staff were caught attempting to smuggle illegal tobacco into the country in June.
The Australian Border Force caught the crew after they landed in Melbourne from Bali, with the 3.5kg of tobacco strapped to their bodies and hidden in their pants.
The flight attendants, believed to be one woman and three men, have since lost their jobs.
The 3.5kg of contraband was over the duty-free allowance of 25 cigarettes per person.
Melbourne airport has since been put on alert as this wasn't an isolated incident, the Herald Sun reported.
Airline workers who have special security clearances may be sought out by organised crime syndicates, experts are saying.
A source told the Herald Sun that airline staff now are subjected to stricter security screening.
'Flight attendants have always been seen as 'low risk' but that seems to be changing. They are obviously taking advantage of that,' the source said.
Criminologist James Martin said that the smuggling may be instigated by organised crime syndicates, as they hire anyone that has the ability to get drugs between countries.
'If screening procedures are too stringent, they will bribe people doing the procedures,' Mr Martin said.
'It doesn't matter how sophisticated screening becomes or how much money is put into it. If there's a huge demand for illicit drugs, there is always going to be someone to take the risk to try and access that market and profit available.'
Source: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/l...g/news-story/747167b657720f4c6c513f6faab72ad2
The Australian Border Force caught the crew after they landed in Melbourne from Bali, with the 3.5kg of tobacco strapped to their bodies and hidden in their pants.
The flight attendants, believed to be one woman and three men, have since lost their jobs.
The 3.5kg of contraband was over the duty-free allowance of 25 cigarettes per person.
Melbourne airport has since been put on alert as this wasn't an isolated incident, the Herald Sun reported.
Airline workers who have special security clearances may be sought out by organised crime syndicates, experts are saying.
A source told the Herald Sun that airline staff now are subjected to stricter security screening.
'Flight attendants have always been seen as 'low risk' but that seems to be changing. They are obviously taking advantage of that,' the source said.
Criminologist James Martin said that the smuggling may be instigated by organised crime syndicates, as they hire anyone that has the ability to get drugs between countries.
'If screening procedures are too stringent, they will bribe people doing the procedures,' Mr Martin said.
'It doesn't matter how sophisticated screening becomes or how much money is put into it. If there's a huge demand for illicit drugs, there is always going to be someone to take the risk to try and access that market and profit available.'
Source: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/l...g/news-story/747167b657720f4c6c513f6faab72ad2
