PIA Air Hostess Arrested for Smuggling 140,000 Saudi Riyals in her Socks

(CTN News) – A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) air hostess was caught stealing foreign currency at Allama Iqbal International Airport on Saturday.

Customs authorities, working with the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), arrested the air hostess after discovering US cash and Saudi riyals secreted in her socks. The currency is worth millions of Pakistani rupees.

Deputy Collector Customs Raja Bilal revealed that $37,318 and 40,000 Saudi riyals were confiscated from the air hostess aboard a PIA flight from Lahore to Jeddah.

Suspicion led to her being unloaded and searched, revealing the hidden money.

The Air hostess has been turned over to an inquiry team after a charge was filed against her.

Deputy Collector Bilal underlined that the government is dedicated to putting an end to currency smuggling, as directed by the prime minister and the head of the FBR. Senior PIA officials have been informed about the occurrence.

In March of this year, a PIA female flight attendant assigned to a Canada-bound flight was held at the Toronto airport after multiple passports were discovered in her possession.

Hina Sani, who arrived in Toronto on Pakistan Airlines flight PK-789, was detained after Canadian immigration officers discovered multiple passports belonging to various people in her luggage.

Travelling with a passport other than your own is an international felony.

According to sources, Sani was previously cautioned about carrying illegal materials into Canada.

The national airline, PIA, is dealing with the issue of personnel disappearances during overseas trips.

The most recent case is Noor Sher, a member of the 16-person flight attendant team assigned to aircraft PK 781 from Pakistan to Toronto, Canada.

Sher’s disappearance was discovered this week, when he failed to show up for his planned return trip.

These frequent events have prompted severe worries about the airline’s capacity to keep its employees on international assignments, with at least 14 crew members, both male and female, believed to have fled since January 2023.

Previously, in 2022, five crew members vanished without trace. In the first occurrence of the year, flight hostess Faiza Mukhtar allegedly fled to Canada during a layover in January.

Mukhtar, assigned to flight PK 781 from Islamabad to Toronto, failed to report for the return flight, leaving behind a four-year-old son.

Another recent occurrence featured Jibran Baloch, a flight steward who went missing from his hotel room in Toronto.