KUALA LUMPUR, April 12 — A Malaysia Airlines flight attendant was jailed for five years and six months for smuggling heroin into Melbourne in a “clumsily executed” operation.
Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported that former cabin crew member Fariq Aqbal Omar, 34, carried the heroin onboard a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Melbourne in May 2018.
He claimed that he was carrying the drugs for a former colleague and another man who promised to pay him A$500 (RM1,470).
Fariq pleaded guilty to importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug and was sentenced to a maximum of five years and six months in jail over the haul.
ABC reported that Fariq will have to spend a minimum of three years in jail before he is eligible for parole.
In her sentencing, Victorian County Court Judge Wendy Wilmoth said it was hard to comprehend how Fariq had been enticed to smuggle for such a small fee.
“It was clumsily executed and entirely lacking in sophistication. Your actions have resulted in a very significant fall for you.
“This is something you should have considered before the importation,” she reportedly said.
Fariq was captured on CCTV walking through Melbourne Airport with his trouser pockets and vest bulging with 10 blocks of pure heroin.
He then placed them into his suitcase in an airport bathroom before leaving the terminal and boarding a bus with other cabin crew.
However, Australian Border Force officials had them all return to the baggage area with their luggage.
Fariq took the drugs from his suitcase and tried to conceal them in his pockets but was caught.
He initially told investigators that he believed the packages had contained illegal tobacco.
