And SAA always thought they are untouchable ..... 
If you do not believe me ... believe NEWS 24
Cape Town - The British government threatened to impound South African aircraft, to cancel SA Airways' licence and to ban its aircraft from landing at Heathrow Airport after SAA crew were caught drug trafficking in 1997.
This was stated in the Bellville Magistrate's Court on Friday by SAA executive manager (operating) Joachim Steve Rentsch, at the bail hearing of SAA pilot Similo Sircharles Sali.
Rentsch told the court that the British government had warned SAA to improve its airport security relating to drug detection.
He said this resulted in the tagging of the baggage and luggage of pilots and crew, along the lines of a Memorandum of Understanding.
Before the tagging started, and a drug trafficker among the crew happened to see customs officials checking baggage at Heathrow, the offender would simply leave his untagged luggage on the conveyer belt and disappear.
With the new system the authorities at Heathrow now at least knew to whom suspect baggage belonged.
DRUGS WAS PLANTED (What Els Ernie ?)
Sali told the court that he was not involved in drug trafficking and did not know that there was cocaine hidden in his luggage when he was arrested at Cape Town International Airport on July 24.
The night before a woman seeking a post with SAA had visited his room at the Strand Street Holiday Inn to hand him a CV. It was possible that she had planted the cocaine found in his hand baggage.
Sali told of another incident when a SAA crew member took his luggage by mistake at Zurich Airport.
Sali said he only got his luggage back two days later at the Johannesburg airport, and it was also possible that this person had placed the cocaine in his bag.
DRUGS FOUND IN OVERNIGHT CASE
Investigating officer Inspector Barend Geldenhuys of the SA narcotics bureau said staff shortages had drastically reduced the number of checks in recent times.
He said crew placed their luggage in a special container which was placed in a compartment on the plane. Hand luggage that crew took on board with them was scanned.
Sali told him the case in question had been given to him by the SAA in October last year and he had used it ever since when flying overseas.
Geldenhuys said the bag was not part of SAA issue to pilots, but a small one which could be used as hand luggage.
The substance was inside a plastic bag that was wrapped in brown plastic tape. It weighed just less than 3kg and the drugs had a street value of about R1m.
Geldenhuys said the forensic laboratory where the substances were being analysed had said that two of the bags had contained almost-pure cocaine while another had been mixed with other substances.
He said he had confiscated Sali's passport as well as his identity document, a temporary passport and another new passport. All the passports were South African.