View Full Version : BA Cabin Crew Arrest
dontdoit
14th Jun 2002, 07:41
From SkyNews:
A British Airways crew member has been arrested after allegedly getting off a flight with more than £372,000 worth of cocaine.
The man was arrested by Customs officers at Gatwick Airport after stepping off a flight from Kingston, Jamaica.
It is alleged he was carrying six kilos of cocaine with an estimated street value of £372,000.
The suspect is now being interviewed by Customs officers and has not yet been charged.
A spokesman for British Airways said: "We can confirm a member of our cabin crew was arrested by Customs Excise at Gatwick and that arrest was in connection with an alleged possession of drugs."
Alpha Leader
14th Jun 2002, 07:56
Did the contributor mean "condone" or "condemn"? :confused:
Seems that English might not be a necessary prerequisite to join BA.....
Notso Fantastic
14th Jun 2002, 09:58
If you read the context of what this person is saying, you cannot for a moment believe that they meant 'condone' rather than 'condemn'! C'mon now- hands up anybody who typing on line hasn't used the wrong word in haste? Barcode, I think you are being just a trifle naughty............
Fat Boy Sim
14th Jun 2002, 14:40
Honestly, where do the Customs buy there drugs? Six kilos for £372,000 they really are getting ripped off!;)
flapsforty
14th Jun 2002, 17:34
Notso obviously has the right end of the stick and barcode is trying to agitate the faeces here.............
We've had the exact same thing happen in our mob a while back, and apart from it being appallingly stupid, it is also rather traumatic for the esprit de corps. The general public has an understandable habit of tarring all with the same brush.
Which has some highly unpleasant consequences in the personal sphere.
Some of you might remember the feeling from the time right after the Channel4 bottle to throttle uproar.
Best wishes to all BA flight attendants; don't let this get you down.
"Honestly, where do the Customs buy there drugs? Six kilos for £372,000 they really are getting ripped off!"
£62,000 per kg is a street value figure based on C&E research, and accepted by the courts as a basis for comparison.
If the person concerned is convicted, (and of course it is a big if; they have to be proven guilty) then the likely sentence will not be far from the ten year mark, depending on circumstances.
Legalapproach
15th Jun 2002, 12:38
JPJ
Without wishing to be pedantic R -v- Aramah suggests that in the case of importation of five kilogrammes, or more of class A at 100% purity "sentences of 14 years and upwards are appropriate". Obviously a guilty plea would reduce this figure.
In addition the asset confiscation under the Drug Trafficking Offences Act is likely to be rather painfull.
NigelOnDraft
15th Jun 2002, 18:05
Reported elsewhere that he was released yesterday on bail...
To anyone with legal knowledge, if a potential sentence of 14+ years was on the cards, would the Police really bail you? Or take you to the Mag Court and try for custody?
Maybe it indicates there is some doubt as to whether he was intentionally carrying it, or it was possibly "planted"..?
NoD
foo fighting
15th Jun 2002, 21:59
as a law abiding london tma atco i am shocked to see that so many of you pilot people that i talk to have such an in depth knowledge of the wholesale and retail price of charlie !!
Even those charged with serious offences can be bailed if the court has no grounds to fear that they will reoffend or abscond. There is a man called Hoogstraten who is currently on trial for murder and he has bail. So there are no conclusions to be drawn even if he has been bailed.
BEagle
16th Jun 2002, 00:30
Anyone involved in illegal drugs - including cannabis and ecstasy - should, when caught, be boiled alive in their own excrement.
Zero tolerance, zero compromise. Keep this filth out of our country.
Notso Fantastic
16th Jun 2002, 09:34
BEagle- well thank you for that! Very helpful. Another 'shoot from the hip' judgement. Pray how would you handle someone who has drugs planted on them in their baggage? Wheelie bags, cabin bags have pockets and are accessible by many people. Just don't apply to be a JP!
OzzieO
16th Jun 2002, 13:55
BEagle you may find these simple to follow instructions useful if you should make any further postings.
1) Engage Brain
2) Type the contents of your posting.
3) Reply.
You'll find that generally point one is the most crucial of the three.
And please spare me the crap about living in a democracy and freedom of speech.
I have a certain amount of symapthy for BEagle's comments. We could do without this sh!t here.
But lets wait to see if the chap is found guilty first, if he is then lock him up and throw away the key.
bealine
16th Jun 2002, 18:41
As a helpful BA Ground Staff member at LGW, I have, on more than a few occasions, raced certain members of our Cabin Crew between piers from Inbound flights to an outbound connection to get them home. (Indeed, had I not done so, they would have had to shell out for accommodation at LGW!)
Because of my position, and working at LGW (which is a friendly sort of place) H M Customs and H M Immigration officials tend to know me and allow unhindered passage. Once or twice, I have even taken our Cabin staff members on a direct route avoiding both authorities!
If this guy is guilty (and I hope against hope that he isn't!), then I feel disgusted that my goodwill could have been abused and that H M Customs colleagues will no longer trust my judgement. Even worse is the thought that I could have unwittingly assisted in smuggling.
This incident has now spoiled things for other Cabin Crew members!
As for tarring everyone at BA with the same brush, that is old bollocks (read Richard Branson's book, bollocks is not swearing - they are the utterances of priests!) Of course in such a large undertaking, we cannot all be perfect but I would guess that for every one bad apple, there are a thousand or more honest, hard working, genuine people!
Cheers
Legalapproach
19th Jun 2002, 06:41
Good (or bad) news for EGGW
According to a statement I have just read from a Bedfordshire Drug Squad officer, in Bedfordshire and the surrounding area a Kilogram of cocaine sells for between £25,000 to £32,000 at street level and a supplier can purchase an ounce of crack cocaine for between £900.00 to £1200.00 so you may have a point FBS
:D :D