Kip Powick Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 A former Air Canada flight attendant from Mississauga has been jailed eight years for smuggling almost $400,000 worth of cocaine into London. Mandeep Shahi, 27, was sentenced Monday by the Southwark Crown Court in London after pleading guilty in September for her role in what police call a “cocaine conspiracy” to import at least four kilograms of cocaine into West London as she travelled from Pearson to Heathrow airports last March. “Shahi abused her position as a member of cabin crew and is now facing the consequences of her corruption,” said Detective Inspector Sarah Staff, of London’s Metropolitan Police Service.Police said Shahi smuggled the cocaine into England in her luggage — which was not checked by security — and then she delivered the drugs to her conspirators in London hotel rooms.Simon Howard-Harwood, 28, Baljinder Nijjar, 28, and Ghulem Malik, 53, all of England, were also convicted of a number of smuggling-related offences.Shahi is married to Nijjar’s cousin, Bhupinder Sanghera.According to London’s Daily Mail newspaper, Shahi wept at Monday’s sentencing hearing. The judge said Shahi and her fellow conspirators took advantage of the lack of security checks on Air Canada staff.“As you well knew through your cousin, and perhaps Ms. Shahi, Canada is not regarded as a country that poses a great risk of prohibited drugs being brought to this country,” Daily Mail quoted Judge Michael Gledhill saying to co-accused Nijjar, adding “… there is virtually a nil risk that flights coming into this country from Canada would be subjected to random checks of crew.”Shahi pleaded guilty, but suggested to jurors at her sentencing hearing that her husband could have put the drugs in her bag without her knowing, the newspaper reported.Police had been watching Howard-Harwood and Nijjar for months, but only caught Shahi when she made a delivery to the men at a central London hotel on March 26, 2010. She was not arrested, however, until August, when she returned to London as part of Air Canada’s flight crew.On that occasion she was found to have smuggled a small amount of cannabis, police said, though she never faced charges for those drugs.In an email to the Star, Air Canada spokeswoman Angela Mah refused to comment on the case except to confirm that Shahi is no longer employed by the airline and Air Canada “continues to cooperate fully with the RCMP and U.K. authorities on this matter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deicer Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 As a lesson to others who do this, they should never let her out.Iceman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moon The Loon Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 Great way to ruin one's life and "caste" a shadow over one's family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadaEH Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 As a lesson to others who do this, they should never let her out.IcemanSeems harsh, considering what she did. Wouldn't your statement be more applicable to someone who's killed another person??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deicer Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 Seems harsh, considering what she did. Wouldn't your statement be more applicable to someone who's killed another person???No Sir.This kind of offence should keep one incarcerated for life.As for taking another life, as I've said before, if it is a confirmed case a la Olsen, Bernardo, Williams, then the death penalty is too good for them.Iceman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaydee Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 No Sir.This kind of offence should keep one incarcerated for life.As for taking another life, as I've said before, if it is a confirmed case a la Olsen, Bernardo, Williams, then the death penalty is too good for them.Iceman LHR was a nightmare to begin with and this will no doubt only make it worse. Crews will probably pay the price of her stupidity for years to come through increased inspections. I say throw away the key as an example to the rest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trader Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 LHR has been a pain for a few years because of this case (and a few others). I know FA's who would bring as many cigarettes as they could to sell to the concierge who would sell them onwards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inchman Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 LHR has been a pain for a few years because of this case (and a few others). I know FA's who would bring as many cigarettes as they could to sell to the concierge who would sell them onwards.Funny how different people have different experiences...I have been into LHR maybe 30 times in the past few years and the purser gets off the bus, drops off the form and gets back on the bus. I have never been subject to search inbound to LHR.Not a pain for me so far, at least inbound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AIP Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 Funny how different people have different experiences...I have been into LHR maybe 30 times in the past few years and the purser gets off the bus, drops off the form and gets back on the bus. I have never been subject to search inbound to LHR.Not a pain for me so far, at least inbound. With this news, that may be about to change !!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FA@AC Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 With this news, that may be about to change !!!!!This idiot was arrested, I believe, back in Jul or Aug, and the authorities knew all about her for several months before that. I`d thus expect that if there were going to see changes to UK arrival formalities for AC crew we`d have seen them already (unless the fact that she has now been convicted will make a difference?). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trader Posted December 22, 2010 Share Posted December 22, 2010 inchman--actually, you are right. I was speaking of the 'leaving' part where security practically has you naked and mixed that thought with the inbound trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FA@AC Posted December 22, 2010 Share Posted December 22, 2010 inchman--actually, you are right. I was speaking of the 'leaving' part where security practically has you naked and mixed that thought with the inbound trip.I might be missing something, but that makes no sense to me. You`re saying that security procedures for crew departures from LHR are as strict as they are because of FAs bringing cigarettes into the UK? Upon arrival one clears customs. At departure one clears security. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trader Posted December 22, 2010 Share Posted December 22, 2010 FA@AC - ya, I messed that thought up. The security outgoing is strict for security purposes. Inbound they are pretty lax until they lock onto specific airlines that have abused it in the past. Over 6 years I have only been searched twice inbound! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FA@AC Posted December 22, 2010 Share Posted December 22, 2010 Over 6 years I have only been searched twice inbound!I'd say that that's about the typical ratio. UK customs are very lax at checking us, although I hear that if they find even a minor violation on the rare cases when they conduct a search there's hell to pay. Fortunately, they have so far remained trusting of us despite the antics of the fool who was recently convicted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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