Barely a week after a female South African police officer
was arrested in n Brazil for drug possession, South African Airways
(SAA) has confirmed one of its flight attendants has been arrested in
Australia, after she was allegedly caught with six kilogrammes of
cocaine hidden in her luggage.
32-year-old Priya ‘Pree’ Govender was intercepted by Australian border officers at the Perth Airport this week.
The national carrier’s Tladi Tladi says SAA will allow the law to take its course.
“SAA would like to respect the legal system of that country
and allow the law to take its course, before we comment further on
this.” the statement says.
In a joint media released by the Australian Border Force
(ABF) and Australian Federal Police (AFP), they said the incident
occurred on 18 August 2017 after she arrived on a flight from
Johannesburg.
They did not identify the woman but local media have named
her as flight attendant from Phoenix, Priya ‘Pree’ Govender, who has
worked for South Africa’s national airline since 2010.
Govender was selected for a baggage examination by ABF officers.
“During the examination, ABF officers detected six packages
concealed in six books. Initial testing returned a positive result for
the border controlled drug cocaine…
“The Australian Federal Police (AFP) attended and arrested
the woman. She was later charged with importing a commercial quantity of
a border controlled drug, namely cocaine, contrary to section 307.1 of
the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth),” said the statement.
The maximum penalty for this offence is life imprisonment.
Govender appeared before the Perth Magistrate Court on 19 August. She was denied bail and is due to return to court on 6 September 2017.
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