Japanese media on Wednesday reported that the country's police had arrested a Vietnamese flight stewardess for getting involved in an alleged smuggling case.

Vietnam Airlines (VNA) cabin attendant Nguyen Bich Ngoc, 25, was arrested “on suspicion of attempting to smuggle stolen goods into Vietnam,” Kyodo News reported.

The VNA office in Tokyo was also searched, according to the Japanese news agency.

Ngoc was suspected to have carried 21 stolen items of clothing worth 125,000 Japanese yen (US$1,222) on a bus carrying the aircrew from a hotel in Osaka to Kansai International Airport last September. But police said Ngoc denied the charges.

Her attempt to allegedly smuggle the stolen clothing followed the request of a 30-year-old Vietnamese woman residing in Japan who had been indicted for buying stolen goods, Kyodo News said.

Ngoc was also accused of having taken stolen goods worth 3 million Japanese yen ($29,300) onto airplanes and received compensation since June last year.

Tokyo Police Department said they suspected around 20 Vietnam Airlines employees were involved in a smuggling case and had asked five of them, including a copilot and four cabin attendants, to turn up at the police office, but the five people are currently not in Japan.

It is reported that the police in Fukuoka Prefecture arrested five groups of Vietnamese thieves in February this year.

In 2009, Japanese police arrested Dang Xuan Hop, a VNA pilot, for allegedly smuggling stolen goods from Japan to Vietnam, and kept him in custody for a few months before dropping all the charges against him.

But VNA, Vietnam’s national carrier, still suspended him from flying for one year.

VNA, Vietnam police to join investigation

In a press release on Wednesday night, VNA said its representatives in Tokyo had held a meeting with the Tokyo police agency to provide necessary information and documentation to support the investigation into Ngoc’s arrest.

On late Wednesday afternoon, a deputy general manager of VNA also had a meeting with A85, an agency under the Vietnam Ministry of Public Security, for cooperation in the probe.

According to Le Truong Giang, VNA spokesman, after hearing of the news that the cabin attendant Ngoc is kept in custody for investigation, the VNA branch in Japan immediately contacted Japanese police agencies for information and cooperation, but did not receive any official information from them.

Giang added that VNA leaders already asked its branch in Japan to proactively contact Tokyo police for further information right after the Japanese media published news of a VNA crew member suspected of smuggling stolen goods from Japan on February 27.

VNA also contacted the Embassy of Vietnam in Japan and the Ministry of Public Security to investigate this allegation, but it has not been provided with full official papers.  

“VNA is determined to clarify and strictly punish any individual or staff member taking advantage of their position at VNA to perform any illegal acts,” Giang said.

VNA last Monday said no aircrew are allowed to use large-sized suitcases while they are on duty on international flights due to a directive apparently intended to improve the carrier’s reputation following recent smuggling cases involving its flight attendants.

The carrier said it would actively cooperate with investigative agencies and strictly handle violations according to the law, and provide accurate and timely information based on authentic sources.