Vietnam Air Denies Smuggling Case Involvement

Hanoi, April 4 (Jiji Press)--A spokesman for Vietnam Airlines has denied that the airline was institutionally involved in the alleged smuggling of goods stolen in Japan that led to the arrest of a female cabin attendant by Japanese police last week. "We think it is really her personal problem," Le Truong Gian stressed in an interview with Jiji Press. "She must take full responsibility for what she did." It is regrettable the acts of the individual "really damaged our reputation," he said. According to sources at Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department, however, more than 20 officials of the airline are believed to be involved in the case. The police has asked a pilot and four other cabin attendants to accept questioning. The cabin attendant was arrested for taking 21 down jackets, worth 125,000 yen, to Kansai International Airport in western Japan in September 2013 while knowing that they were stolen items. The jackets were taken to Vietnam and sold, informed sources said. Since June last year, the cabin attendant is believed to have carried more than 2.5 million yen's worth of stolen goods. In 2008, a Vietnam Airlines copilot was arrested in Japan on similar charges. END