Flight attendant, four Eritreans arrested

  1. Posted on Monday 28 June 2010 - 15:30
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    John Afful Jnr, AfricaNews reporter in Accra, Ghana
    A South African Airways flight attendant Elphia Dlamini, has been arrested whiles trying to smuggle 3 kilos of cocaine into Britain through London's Heathrow airport on Monday.
    SA airways
    According to the UK Border Agency, Dlamini 42, was arrested after arriving on a flight from Johannesburg to London on Saturday.

    The UK Border Agency said its officers found the cocaine, which had an estimated value of around 120,000 pounds, on Dlamini during crew clearance checks.

    Dlamini, who hails from Cape Town in South Africa, was charged with attempting to import a Class A drug and will appear in court in Uxbridge, southeast England, later on Monday.

    Meanwhile, four Eritrean Nationals stowaways trying to enter the UK by hiding in a lorry load of machine parts have been arrested.

    The Eritreans where caught in an Italian registered vehicle. Officials found that the trailer was unsecured, and a 'body detection dog' indicated that people were hiding inside the load. During the inspection, the four were discovered in the lorry, which was destined for an address on the North West Industrial Estate, Peterlee.

    The stowaways were taken off the vehicle, photographed, refused entry to the UK and then handed over to the French authorities. The lorry was allowed to continue its journey to the UK.

    The haulier has been fined £3,000 (£750 for each stowaway) and the lorry driver, who is a Serbian, £800 (£200 for each stowaway).

    UK Border Agency director Tom Dowdall, who heads operations in northern France has disclosed that: “The UK Border Agency's strong presence at the frontier, not only in the UK but also in northern France, helps protect the whole country from people illegally entering the UK and then heading for towns and cities across Britain - in this case Peterlee. We are committed to tackling illegal immigration and its harmful effects.”

    Dowdall added his outfit using modern and hi-tech equipment would do well to track-down perpetrators and bring them to book.

    “Our officers use hi-tech search equipment and an array of search techniques to combat illegal immigration. These include body detection dogs, carbon dioxide detectors and heartbeat monitors as well as visual searches to find well hidden stowaways.”

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