SAA cabin crew detained after Heathrow cocaine discovery
The entire crew of a South African Airways flight from Johannesburg to Heathrow have been detained after officials found 5 kilograms of cocaine in the luggage of a member of cabin staff.
The 15 crew, including three pilots, have been released on bail.
It is the second time in a month that a SAA flight crew has been arrested following the discovery of drugs on board.
In January, a 15-member crew was detained after 50 kilograms of marijuana and 4 kilograms of cocaine were found.
According to media reports, in this latest incident on Flight SA234, the cocaine was found inside a vanity case belonging to one of the female crew members.
SAA said it was co-operating fully with British authorities and said security had been tightened following last month’s arrest.
On that occasion, a security guard and a member of the cabin crew member were arrested and are due to appear in March and April.
By Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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