Saa crew caught at LHR again

[highflyer17]

SAA crew held for cocaine at Heathrow
Eyewitness News has learnt several more South African Airways crew members have been detained at Heathrow International Airport in connection with the smuggling of illegal goods.
http://www.ewn.co.za/articleprog.aspx?id=6587:ugh:

[dsp]

More SAA crew held at Heathrow 16/02/2009 18:29 - (SA)
http://www.news24.com/News24v2/Images/tsp.gifhttp://m1.2mdn.net/viewad/817-grey.gif (http://ad.za.doubleclick.net/click;h=v8/37d6/0/0/%2a/e;44306;0-0;0;14950655;4307-300/250;0/0/0;;~okv=;sz=300x250;posno=1;kw=;artid=2470897;tile=2;~sscs=% 3f)http://www.news24.com/News24v2/Images/tsp.gifhttp://www.news24.com/News24v2/Images/tsp.gifhttp://www.news24.com/News24v2/Images/tsp.gif


Johannesburg - Fifteen SA
Airways crew members were arrested in Heathrow in London on Monday for possession of illegal goods, the airways said.
Spokesperson Robyn Chalmers said three cockpit and 12 cabin crew of flight SA234 from Johannesburg to London were detained by authorities after "contraband" was found in the crew bus at the airport.
"This comes after last month's incident where SAA crew members were arrested in London following the discovery of illegal contraband on the crew bus," Chalmers said.
On 20 January, British officials found 50kg of dagga and 4kg of cocaine in three suitcases (collectively worth approximately R2m) belonging to SAA employees.
SAA tightened existing security measures following the incident including changing security systems, conducting physical searches of bags and using dogs.
"An investigation in Johannesburg, involving SAA Aviation Security and the SAPS Crime Intelligence Unit, is also under way to establish how security procedures were breached," Chalmers said.
She added that the company was co-operating fully with British investigation authorities.
"SAA remains committed to a zero tolerance approach towards the use of the airline's services for any criminal activity and will continue to closely monitor the situation going forward," she said. - SAPA
:yuk:

[Hobgoblin]

One wonders what the contraband actually is. Just somebody trying to sneak in some biltong...or something more sinister?

Probably one or two crew members involved and the whole of SAA dragged through the mud again. Anyone that thick deserves whatever the law is going to give them.

[Solid Rust Twotter]

Great suggestion from the other forum:-

SAAPA should insist on two crew buses - one for flight deck crew and the other for cabin crew. It should go some way toward isolating the culprits.

[boypilot]

From Sky News:

The South African Airways employees were detained after 5kg of the drug - worth about £250,000 - was discovered in a bag on a flight from Johannesburg.
Crew members were arrested after UK Border Agency officers made the discovery.
A spokesman for HM Revenue & Customs Heathrow said those in custody would be interviewed by HMRC investigation officers.
On January 21, a 15-member flight crew from the same airline was detained after cocaine and cannabis worth £310,000 was found in three bags.
The 10 women and five men questioned over that incident were released on unconditional bail, and were due to report back to HMRC investigators at Heathrow Police Station on March 23.
South African Airways were unavailable for comment.

[PAXboy]

This will be costing the airline a packet in unexpected costs and they need to put their own (reliable) security people right inside their crews. The PR disaster is another element and the ZA tax payer already hates the subsidy enough, without having this behaviour. If a bunch of ou's tried to run the game within a month of another bunch being caught - they really are well stupid.

[fourgolds]

Sorry , but I have to withdraw my previous feelings that it was unfair of our government to impose a visa restriction on Saffers. If you cant even search a crew of 15 adequately outbound. ( especially after the high profile incident earlier). Then how do you possibly controll more organised criminals and terrorist networks. Sorry to say but travell restrictions are going to become more and more of a reality as a completely incompetent government continues to take a lax approach towards crime.

[SAT_BOSS]

This Is Africa :mad:

[fluffyfan]

Champagne
Maybe if they were paid a reasonable wage they wouldn't be FORCED to take desperate measures to make a livable income

You are trying to wind us up right?

They need to put these bastards in jail for a long time, they need to take proper security measures they need to put undercover people in positions and investigate, its obvious there are syndicates at work here, but what do you expect, the ANC has shown that corruption is ok, you cant blame the people for folowing there example.

[RobinB]

I listened to Chris Smyth this morning talking to John Robbie on Radio 702. It was so refreshing to listen to such a person who did not try and duck and dive and "shift responsibility" elsewhere. Drug cartels are not stupid people. Criminals are not stupid either - so, while all and sundry who frequent these pages, instead of crying in our collective beer, why do we not contribute to the "fix". John Robbie was saying that 702 was contacted by SAA Employees stating that security was a "joke" and these incidents were rife - OK, so any SAA employee who claims "they know things" should be contacting Chris directly to see what can be done to stop this crap. OK, so laugh and don't lift a finger, remember South Africa does not have a dole queue - think about it..........

[Hobgoblin]

Here's an idea. Why don't SAA try a last minute change of destination from London to...ooh I don't know...let's say Singapore. In other words the crew who were supposed to fly to London now all of a sudden find themselves going to a place where smuggling drugs mean the death sentence. Not that it ever will (or should!) happen. As a passenger one would feel slightly uneasy of taking a flight where the only one who doesn't know the destination is also the one supposed to take you there!

Failing anything that drastic why don't they tighten up the security arrangements? It used to be that airport security was the responsibility of the Police Force (used to be called SA Railway Police) - not a private contractor in sight. How can they expect proper security when they employ people at minimum wage, make them work a minimum of 60 to 72 hours per week (which is the only way the poor guy can earn enough money to survive), tax him to death on any overtime, and to top it all expect him to be happy doing that for the rest of his working life? No chance of advancement because as far as his bosses are concerned he's just there to provide a bum on a seat. No quarterly performance reviews, no opportunity for him to attend courses, and have you tried studying anything when you work 72 hours per week at some mind-numbingly boring job? From leaving his house to returning at the end of a day your man probably has a 16 hour day what with travelling on trains etc in SA.

Is it any wonder that he'll look the other way when some criminal offers him probably close on a year's wages just to let one or two cases go past unchallenged? Especially when said criminal is living the high life, driving a nice car living in a nice house etc etc etc.

Until they address this at the root it will never change.

[LongJohnThomas]

Champagne Lover,
A decent wage is a relative term. :eek:
For many, what pilots earn in whatever capacity, would be classed as heavenly down-pour!:hmm:
I wondered when the word 'Nigeria' would pop up? And true to stripes, i see you have mentioned it for the purpose of passer-by type comments.
The point here is that criminals are criminals, Nigerian, South African etc.
There are Nigerian traffickers and also South African traffickers of banned substances and in most cases, independent of each other.
The individuals involved in this scandal are an embarrassment to all air crew and Africans to say the least.:}:yuk:
Hopefully the hammer will come down heavy on those found guilty of these atrocious acts and serve as a deterrent to others with the 'get rich quick' ideas.:ugh::yuk:

[unstable load]

Calm down suitcaseman!

What the post suggests is not a headlong rush back to apartheid, quite the contrary, all it would do is very rapidly point a finger in a particular direction as to who the guilty party MAY BE.

If the bag is in the pilot's bus then it could be a pilot.
If it's in the cabin crew bus, then Sherlock could dedue that it may be a crewman/person.

At least that way someone may get to avoid spending a night in the clink, and it would also have the side effect of calming the frothing at the mouth that is going on right now.

LJT,
As for the nationality of the traffickers, I think it's fair to say it could be either or indeed neither - or both.:ugh: Whoever it turns out to be, they should be stood against a wall and be made to eat the merchandise, then shot.

[beechbum]

Whoever it turns out to be, they should be stood against a wall and be made to eat the merchandise, then shot.

Ha ha ha...if only! But then we would be told that it's not politically correct to do that! I say a public stoning.....that should take care of any of the misdeamenours currently on the go!! Then a one way ticket to Thailand with the contraband strapped proudly round their necks.......:cool:
Ok take cover!!!!!

[Glassos]

Makes me proud to be a Seffrican!

Every time one of these incidents occurs, customs is going to pay extra attention to the airline in question.

I'm not condoning this activity, but if this criminal were smart, they would have shut down this 'pipeline' for at least a couple of months. Obviously not a criminal genius at work here!

I feel sorry for all the scrutiny the innocent crew are going to face for the next few months. I agree with the suggestion that cabin and cockpit be segregated for transportation to and from the airport.

[LittleMo]

I for one, if I was an SAA crew member, would be sh1t scared of one of these traffickers in my crew popping something inside my bags while i wasn't looking. Lets face it, it's hapened before and it'll happen again. Hopefuly not to some innocent cabin/cockpit crew unknowingly carrying some scumbags stash and then tkaing the fall 4 it.
These people make me sick :yuk:

[Solid Rust Twotter]

Didnt we just spend decades fighting aparheid and discrimination in SA?

Hardly the point.:rolleyes:

UL seems to have got it first time. Besides, AFAIK the CC and flight deck crew mostly stay in separate hotac in any case unless things have changed in the last year or four.

[rudder hard over]

Considering the example goverment officials are setting, it's only a matter of time before government departments like SAA start following suit.

[FlyItLikeARental]

Hehehe, maybe they didn't shut down the coke pipe cause them sneaky beagles at heathrow only smelled the grass last time around... :}

These bastards should be hung, cause one of these days crews will have to be strip searched at the airport... :mad:

Where are the days when peeps still had some integrity...:ugh:

[maxrated]

Pulled this off avcom.



National airline expands into profitable new business
Jeff Chaucer has the scoop on an unnamed African airline that's found a new way to offset massive losses
Jeff Chaucer*

17 February 2009 13:56

SOMEWHERE IN AFRICA - In response to criticism and some dissatisfaction at the allocation of R1,6bn in government's 2009 Budget to the ailing national airline, the carrier has announced its intention to introduce "contraband transport" as a new service that it hopes will catapult the beleaguered airline into profitability.
Speaking at a media conference held earlier this week, Vanya Kruschek, the newly appointed Russian head of corporate strategy and business planning at the national airline, revealed that the audacious strategy was arrived at after a four-day brain-storming session by senior executives at a suitably plush South African coastal golfing resort.
According to Kruschek: "We were nearing the end of the second day and starting to wonder where we could find double cheeseburgers, when Andrew Coleman had the breakthrough idea. He pointed out that what we really needed to do was find a higher margin business than just moving around people and ordinary cargo. After that, for some reason, the answer seemed obvious."
The summary business plan distributed to media in briefing packs shows a two-year implementation horizon after which the airline expects the business to be fully profitable.
Initially the airline will focus on routes from South Africa to Europe and the United States as a McKinsey study had revealed that this was where there was greatest demand for the offering. When asked about the impact of the global recession on demand, especially in developed countries, Ms Kruschek responded that the McKinsey study had found there was a relatively inelastic demand curve for the types of product that the national carrier would be transporting.
"Somehow, people will always find money for these goods, even if it means not making the payments on the house that month." On certain routes, such as the flight to Amsterdam, the national carrier was apparently in discussions with "Proudly South African" about the use of the brand to promote the cargo.
In response to a question from the press, Kruschek reassured all loyal clients that passenger transport would remain a key part of the offering. In an innovative extension of the existing loyalty programme, passengers would, from the start of 2010, be able to earn extra points if they were willing to carry a parcel in their luggage or strapped to their body.
While analysts agree that the plan might be just what the airline needs to save it from perpetual reliance on government handouts, Chris Tyson from Credit-Suisse expressed some concern about implementation progress.
"The national airline might be in danger of being tripped up as another African airline which, since implementing a similar plan of action, had 30 crew members have been arrested at Heathrow in a couple of months .
"It's all fine and well to identify a high-margin business but if you don't pay attention to the details, you're never going to earn that margin. As so often in the past with the national carrier, our major concern is around their ability to execute their strategy."
The national carrier's head of corporate affairs, Juan Martinez, admitted that there had been some teething problems, but that they were looking at ways of using the government funding to "smooth the process" with border authorities in target jurisdictions: "The economic crisis works to our advantage here as everyone is being more innovative about how to supplement their income."
When asked how they felt about the plan, the umbrella trade union body expressed tentative support "as long as then national carrier continues hiring our countrymen and doesn't try to bring in Nigerians or Columbians just because they are supposed to have superior skills in this field."
The finance minister could not be reached for comment but it's widely believed that as long as there wasn't another budget with money allocated to te national carrier in his lifetime, he would feel it was a job well done.
The national carrier revealed that R200m of the R1.6bn had already been paid to Andrew Coleman for his participation in the strategy session and that the airline regarded it as "money well spent".
*Jeff is a member of the Moneyweb community who claims to be a direct descendant of the father of English Literature, Geoffrey Chaucer (1343 - 1400). He says any similarity to real people or companies is co-incidental.

[Solid Rust Twotter]

CL, SCM

At no time did I mention any specific group as being the culprits. I'm well aware of past indiscretions. If the flight deck crew are stroking the cat they will get nailed, allowing CC to carry on to their hotac. The reverse also applies but it will serve to isolate the group involved instead of inconveniencing all concerned. A further step may be to prohibit crew luggage on board unless it's tagged with name and details on a non removable tag in indelible ink. No doubt this has already been mooted but as we've seen, the security firm they employ to monitor these things in house are just not up to the job.

[Solid Rust Twotter]

Do you think exaggerating what was suggested while insulting users of this forum is the answer then?

[unstable load]

Nicely put, SRT.
He must be a fresh Comm with such a pose.:E

[Greeson]

Humpme,
Separating the FD and CC transport is not because of some superiority complex we hold. It would just mean less innocent parties spending the night in the clink. The FD has also had an indiscretion or two so this could even help both sides.
I can assure the cabin crew would have no problem using their own transport. No dropping the pilots off first. No more waiting for the cockpit outside their hotel etc.

[fluffyfan]

Champagne yes I have noticed how some people get very jumpy when you mention Nigerians, however how strange that the first suspect cabin crew member arrested just happend to be married to a .......yes you guessed it a Nigerian, how shocking imagine that, what are the chances:}

Humpme you seem like a very balanced individule with a chip on both shoulders, its not a case of the pilots feeling superior to anyone else, although that has been the standard cabin crew gripe from the begining of flying....and i would site that to jelousy because basically the pilots have more, get more for what they do and well they should, just like a doctor gets more for what he does versus the nurse, there is nothing stopping any cabin crew member going out and getting a licence. However back to the point its not so unreasonable for the cockpit crew to request different transport in London, it happens at dozens of other destinations and flight deck and cabin crew stay at different hotels in many places including London, the reason for this is that the pilots and the cabin crew have different unions, they negotiate separatley for stuff like hotels etc, now why is it so unreasonable for the pilots to ask there union to try and protect them from incidents like this where 2 nights in a UK jail seem to be the norm just because you happen to be sitting on the same bus as some drug peddler.

Its not unreasonable, maybe you would have a different view on this if you found yourself bending over and touching your toes whilst HM Customs gives you a free prostate exam just because some 23 year old cabin crew member who has been in the company for 6 months decided to follow the teachings of her government, and suppliment her income.

[vonrensburg]

yessssss i agree with you. You said it all. shame poor guys. SHAME ON YOU SAA for not paying your people....shame:rolleyes::D

[HiFli]

I am going to cr:mad:p myself if an SAA hostie says she's just going to powder her nose. Do SAA do coke on domestic flights?

[LittleMo]

HiFli: yes they do but you have to specify whether you want your coke in a can or a gram... :}

[Shrike200]

That really brings the reality home, doesn't it...

[seper]

drug dealing is only lucrative,in nations packed with users!

CL fyi drug usage is almost non existent in Nigeria,and we dont have the death sentence.

Drug dealers thrive where there's a market!

kill the market,and drug dealers are no more!

[thincatblue]

Go sjampers go- let the punishment fit the crime - all this bull sh*t of "my human rights" when a perpetrator is cornered must be changed.
Where is the "responcibilities" that comes with the "rights" and what happened to consequences of your actions?

ps- more of a beer lover myself?

[Leftpedal]

It seems that passengers luggage is handled differently to that of the crew. Why not treat them all the same - i.e. make everyone pick up their luggage before going through customs? This would prevent the entire crew being subjected to this nightmare. My sympathy to the innocent members of the crew - and I hope the guilty party / parties get jail time in SA. I suspect that UK jails aren't much of a deterrent.

[seper]

CL

Peer group pressure exists everywhere,even in Saudi/Malaysia e.tc even Nigeria,but selling drugs is still not lucrative,as there is no market even with the peer pressure!

Check the stats,most Nigerian drug "users" are not in Nigeria.They have are mostly in places were there is a market for usage.

Once more kill the market,you kill the dealers:ok:

[Al Fakhem]

Definitely with seper on this one. The trouble is that both police and courts distinguish between simple possession and possession with intent to deal.

[PAXboy]

Once more kill the market,you kill the dealerseper I have to say, Don't be silly. The American and UK govts have been trying that for the past 40 years by criminalising the use of drugs. Result? They catch more users than dealers and the number of users keeps on going up.

I am NOT advocating full decrimilatisation but the way to kill the market takes about 50 years and involves education of children from day one and their expectation that they will see the quality of life staying level or imprioving. In the UK, many have seen their quality of life deteriorate since the 1980s (aka Thatcher) and now that the Banks have stuffed the world economy, a lot more will want to find their way out of the problem via drugs. The market will grow.

The only way for SAA to fix this is to carry out their own rules and monitor their own procedures and standards. The govt wants 2010 to be a success, so there is a chance that they will fix this. Then the problem will return in 2011 ...

[TAVLA]

With regard to the screening of SAA personnel, the police have already admitted that the drug syndicates have members working in many companies across different operations at the airport. Drugs can be taken airside by other syndicate members, be they in catering, cleaning or anywhere else, and passed down the line to the airline crew member in the syndicate.

The screening of other airside workers still focusses almost exclusively on metal objects. Until all people with access to the airside (including personnel working for other airlines) are properly screened in much the same way SAA crew flying on international flights are now, the syndicates are going to find a way to move drugs.


On the topic of drug dealers, it amazes me that some contributors vigorously defend the drug dealers, saying get rid of the users. This is a scary thought. Does it mean you think all crime is a legitimate business as long as there are people stupid enough to be victims?????????

[GULF69]

Did anyone see Carte Blanch last night...was quite interesting! There were some anonymous speakers on the show, including some SAA technical guys who said that the cabin crew are just the tip of the iceberg - its the technical guys that are the real smugglers.

[LongJohnThomas]

Champagne Lover & fluffyfan,
Yes, i would imagine that the technical staff, cabin crew and pilots of that airplane were Nigerians??? Or rather, maybe they're all related in some way to Nigerians??
Get over yourselves boys!! There are Nigerian dealers and so are there South African dealers/ smugglers as well!!
If anything is ever mentioned about drugs, it is always assumed that it just has to be Nigerians. I am not saying that Nigerians do not push these substances, but merely pointing out the fact that South Africans do too.
As a personal opinion, i do not care about the nationality of the dealers/smugglers/users, i think they are all equally guilty as charged of the same offence!
The manufacture, distribution, transport, delivery and use of banned items and substances should all carry an equal arm of justice!
There would be no market if there were no users, there would be no users if there was no contraband!
Which came first? The chicken, or the egg?
South Africans are human and are equally susceptible to the temptation of quick cash! Deal with reality!
Nigerian or otherwise, i think they all belong in cages with no keys, PERIOD!:ok:

[krummels]

VIVA, our SAA crew, VIVA. Let us send this evil WHITE powder that ENSLAVES us back to the IMPERIAL PIGS where it belongs. This is only the beginning as MILKY BARS are next!!!!.:ok: