AUS: pilot charged with 40 laundering offences

QUOC Viet Lai was arrested last week when he flew into Sydney from Saigon but the alleged laundering took place between June 2005 and June 2006.

It is alleged that he smuggled approximately AUD4 million in cash from Australia. The money, prosecutors say, came from drug trafficking.

Air crew are coming under increasing scrutiny.

In 2006, a Malaysia Airlines steward was arrested entering Australia with thousands of blank magnetic stripe cards thought to be ready to be used to write stolen payment card data onto.

In February this year, a Malaysia Airlines pilot, 23 year old Ahmad Said, was fined AUD6,000 when authorities at Adelaide searched his laptop and found child pornography on it. He was caught, charged, convicted, sentenced and returned to Malaysia in the course of less than two days.

The same week, another Malaysian, NG Kok Yauw, a pilot for Singapore Airlines, was also found with pornography on his laptop. The images were described by prosecutors as "objectionable material depicting abhorrent sexual acts." He was fined AUD12,000. A newspaper report after the trial described the material as "seven videos of rape and child pornography."

Also in February, a Singapore Airlines steward (whose name we have not yet found) was reported in various media to have been charged in Australia and fined as a result of child pornography on his laptop. Again, the search was at Adelaide and disclosed both video and stills. The fine was AUD10,000 say the reports - but blogs relating to the case contain much rumour as to the truth and / or accuracy of this report.

In July last year, Air Tahiti Nui suspended more than 30 cabin crew suspected of drug smuggling. The drugs were allegedly bought in quantity in the US and sold in Tahiti and other islands for as much as 15 times profit. Australian police who raised the story said that there were no allegations of involvement of pilots or technical crew.