A Malaysia Airlines flight attendant has been jailed for smuggling heroin into Melbourne in a "clumsily executed" operation in which he tried to conceal wrapped blocks of the drug under his uniform, causing unusual bulges.
Former cabin crew member Fariq Aqbal Omar carried the heroin onboard a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Melbourne in May 2018 for a former colleague and another man who promised to pay him $500.
The 34-year-old Malaysian man was captured on CCTV walking through Melbourne Airport with his trouser pockets and vest bulging with 10 wrapped blocks of pure heroin, the Victorian County Court heard.
Omar deposited them into his suitcase in an airport bathroom before leaving the terminal and boarding a bus with other cabin crew.
But Australian Border Force officials had them all return to the baggage area with their luggage, the court heard.
Omar took the drugs from his suitcase and tried to conceal them in his pockets before being apprehended.
He told police he believed the packages had contained illegal tobacco or shisha.
Omar pleaded guilty to importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug and has been sentenced to a maximum of five years and six months in jail over the haul.
Wife unlikely to able to afford prison visits
In sentencing, Judge Wendy Wilmoth said it was hard to comprehend how Omar had been enticed to participate in the high-risk enterprise for such a small fee.
"It was clumsily executed and entirely lacking in sophistication," she said.
The court heard Omar has a wife and two children in Malaysia and had been regarded well professionally and socially before his arrest.
"Your actions have resulted in a very significant fall for you," Judge Wilmoth said.
"This is something you should have considered before the importation."
Omar will spend a minimum of three years in jail before becoming eligible for parole.
His wife travelled to Melbourne for his plea hearing and sentencing but the court heard she was unlikely to be able to afford to visit again before his release from prison.
