Last Updated on 29/07/2024 by Ankita Jain
A shocking act of an air hostess of Pakistan’s government airline Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has come to light. Actually, an air hostess of PIA has been caught red handed while smuggling foreign currency like dollars and riyals. The air hostess was smuggling this currency by hiding it in her socks. Its value in Pakistani currency is said to be lakhs of rupees.
A video of the incident has also surfaced, in which the investigation agency employees are seen removing bundles of notes from the socks of the air hostess. The air hostess was caught red-handed smuggling at Pakistan’s Allama Iqbal International Airport. Customs officials carried out this operation with the help of Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Immigration. The air hostess was arrested after US dollars and Saudi riyals were found hidden in her socks.
The flight was going from Lahore to Jeddah
Deputy Collector Customs Raja Bilal said that 37,318 dollars and 40 thousand Saudi Riyals have been recovered from the air hostess. She was travelling in a PIA flight from Lahore to Jeddah. On suspicion, she was taken off the plane and searched, during which hidden notes were recovered. A case has been registered against the air hostess and she has been handed over to the investigation team.
Air hostesses have been caught before too
Deputy Collector Bilal stressed that the government is committed to stop currency smuggling following the instructions of the Prime Minister and the FBR Chairman. Senior PIA officials have been informed about the incident. Earlier, a similar case has come to light in early 2024. Then a female flight attendant of PIA posted on a flight to Canada was detained at Toronto Airport, several passports were found with her.
She was also caught with several passports
Hina Sani, who arrived in Toronto by PIA flight PK-789, was detained by Canadian immigration officials. Several passports of different people were found in her luggage. Traveling with someone else’s passport other than your own is an international crime. According to sources, Sani was previously warned for bringing banned items into Canada. The national airline PIA is facing the problem of employees going missing while traveling abroad.
Serious questions are being raised on PIA
A recent case was that of Noor Sher, a member of the 16-member flight attendant team assigned to flight PK 781 from Pakistan to Toronto (Canada). Sher’s disappearance came to light this week when he failed to report for his scheduled return flight. These repeated incidents have raised serious concerns about the airline’s ability to retain its staff on international assignments, with at least 14 crew members, both male and female, having fled since January 2023.
The air hostess had disappeared here
Earlier in 2022, five crew members disappeared without a trace. In the first incident this year, air hostess Faiza Mukhtar reportedly disappeared in Canada during a layover in January. Mukhtar, posted on flight PK 781 from Islamabad to Toronto, did not report for the return flight and left behind her four-year-old son. Another recent case was that of flight steward Jibran Baloch, who disappeared from his hotel room in Toronto.