The departure hall at Seoul’s Incheon International Airport in South Korea.  Photo by AFP

HCM CITY — Two Vietnamese female flight attendants have been acquitted in a cannabis oil trafficking case in South Korea, according to Vietnamese police.

Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Lieutenant General Nguyễn Văn Viện, director of the Police Department for Drug-related Crimes (C04) under the Ministry of Public Security, confirmed that, “the two crew members have been acquitted by the first-instance court.”

However, he did not disclose the airline to which the crew members belong.

The court in Seoul dismissed the suspicion of smuggling marijuana oil hidden in cargo for the two flight attendants when the suspected drug courier was caught, according to Viện.

"The case is still in the process of appeal, and the two flight attendants have not been able to return to Việt Nam," he noted.

In early September, the attendants were arrested when bringing in a total of 300 million won (US$225,000) worth of liquid marijuana hidden in 50 cosmetics containers from Việt Nam to Incheon International Airport.

According to South Korean media, the two attendants are in their 20s and were facing charges of violating South Korea’s Narcotics Control Act.

During the police investigation, they denied the charges, saying they did not know that they were carrying drugs and only delivered them after receiving an order from an acquaintance to bring cosmetics to South Korea.

In a related issue, in March, customs officers at Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport in HCM City found 157 toothpaste tubes containing a total of 11.284kg of ketamine and MDMA in the luggage of four Vietnamese flight attendants. 

The attendants admitted to transporting the drug-filled tubes for a fee of VNĐ10 million, claiming they were unaware of the drugs inside. They were later released.

The police have instructed local airlines to advise employees about the possibility of “being used by drug criminals for drug trafficking.” 

Vietnamese airlines are required to increase inspections of flight crews before and after flights and strictly adhere to regulations should any violations occur. — VNS