It has been an exciting week for Jet Airways. On January 1, two Jet Airways pilots got into a fight, leading to both of the pilots eventually leaving the cockpit. Both pilots, including Jet Airways' most senior 777 captain, got fired. Now there's a story of a Jet Airways flight attendant who tried to smuggle…
Continue reading: Video: Jet Airways Flight Attendant Tries To Smuggle $500K On Flight
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
In India, black money is a big problem and the government has been coming down hard on them, the last few years. Wiring is not easy anymore. You will have to provide all kinds of documentation to wire anything more than $300 at a time
Airline crew all over the world have been smuggling cash (and other items) since time immemorial. The usual cut for the crew member is between 1-3% of the value of the items smuggled depending on the experience of the smuggler and the level of risk involved (drugs pay higher obviously).
What prompted the search since they were on the plane? What suspicion was there to go looking? And why did they need to unwrap ALL of the cash?
Should have smuggled via the US - it's not like the TSA can actually detect any contrabands and let's not even discuss the dismal police presence in US airports.
The smart money launderers have already moved to Cryptos, Money Laundering in cash is so Deja Vu.
She should have claimed she is allergic to search (and video recording too). That would have prevented everything 😉
At what part of the screening process (I assume her carry on had to go through the x-ray scanner) did foil wrapped rectangular blocks not set off someone’s attention? (Of course there could have been some “assistance” in this area also....)
Imagine a darker skinned person walking through security in the US with a bag full of foil wrapped blocks....!!! Could have ended much much worse for her...
@Emily and Cedric you do realize that the TSA has nothing to do with incoming international flights right? It would be ICE officers who are actual federal law enforcement officers.
I thought Flight Attendents had to speak English?
@Sean M: DITTO
nothing new
this was why UA dropped the their DEL/HKG segment and lost their "Around the World" status.
$$$
@Reek: The obvious difficulty is however getting the money changed to cryptos and legitimise once they come out at the other end. It's not impossible but I doubt that anyone thinking they could get through with wrapping money in foil is likely unable to make it stick. You'll have the IRS on your back quicker than you can say "cryptocurrency".
BTW: If you have to avoid the banking system of a country, putting cash into a bag and travelling with it out of it to launder it somewhere else is still quite popular.
@Potato, yup it’s true. I work in Casino marketing and Asians, manly from the mainland, will flock in with huge bags of Rimowa suitcase luggage full of six figure amounts
@Charles S
I was referring to departures from the United States where immigration checks occur by the airline and not ICE. TSA just check your ID and nothing else. It's actually unusual since travellers have to clear immigration even during departures in most countries.
This is where you can see the difference between Indian police officers and FBI. FBI would have quietly let the air hostess carry the money so they could catch the big rats instead of catching the small rat who will spend 10 years in jail while the handlers find another air hostess to continue their business.
Back in my Bolivian Marching Powder days I got stopped w/ 100 grand in ORD to MIA. I snapped back at them and said."I'm buying a race horse" My traveling companion bailed but I went onto Mia unabated.