PIA cabin crew remanded for ‘smuggling’ Saudi currency

RAWALPINDI: A Paki­stan International Airlines (PIA) flight attendant caught smuggling foreign currency at Allama Iqbal Inter­national Airport, Lahore, has been sent on judicial remand.
Customs officials produced the suspect before a magistrate on Saturday and sought her custody.
According to Customs authorities, the air hostess was detained on Friday after a large amount of Saudi riyals were found in her socks during a body search. A video of the cabin crew member taking out the currency notes has also gone viral on social media.
Later, an FIR was registered against the air hostess, who was only referred to by her initials A.Q. According to the complaint, the suspect, a resident of Vehari, was boarding PIA’s flight PK 203 from Lahore to Dubai when Customs officials stopped her at the airport.
Raja Bilal Naseem, the Customs deputy collector at Allama Iqbal International Airport, told Dawn that 140,000 Saudi Riyals (around 10.4 million rupees) were recovered from her possession during the search.
He said Customs authorities had intelligence reports of a possible attempt to smuggle currency through this flight.
The suspect has been booked under Section 139 of The Customs Act, 1969, which states that any passenger or crew member attempting to take out currency, gold, precious metals or stones by concealing them in baggage to avoid Customs will be charged with offences of smuggling.
A PIA spokesman has said that the air hostess would be terminated immediately if found guilty after the trial.
Published in Dawn, July 29th, 2024