Flight attendants suspected of trafficking cannabis oil found innocent

Lieutenant general Nguyen Van Vien, head of the drug-related crime investigation unit under the Ministry of Public Security, on Friday said that while the flight attendants were pronounced innocent, they could not return to Vietnam while an appeal was being considered.

Vien said documents have been sent to domestic airlines to warn their employees about the possibility of being exploited by criminals.

On September 6, several South Korean media outlets reported that two Vietnamese flight attendants were suspected of trafficking cannabis oil worth ₩300 million ($229,843) in cosmetic products.

South Korean authorities said the attendants, part of a four-member crew, admitted to delivering goods from Vietnam to South Korea for ₩69,000-150,000 each time. However, they denied accusations of transporting cannabis oil, saying that they delivered cosmetic products to South Korea, not knowing drugs were inside.

In March, customs at HCMC’s Tan Son Nhat Airport found over 11 kg of drugs within the luggage of four flight attendants coming back from France. The attendants said they agreed to transport tubes for VND10 million ($412), not knowing there were drugs inside. They were later set free.

HCMC police then launched investigations that resulted in hundreds of people being detained for several charges, including drug trafficking and concealment of crimes.