Flight attendant with port stamps arrested in Canada after previous warning about smuggling contraband

The latest in a string of “disappearing” flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) did not simply walk away and vanish during a Toronto layover, but was arrested for carrying two counterfeit Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA) port stamps, and not passports as multiple Pakistani news sources reported it to be. According to the Pakistan news channel ARY News, a flight attendant arrived in Toronto March 28 on flight PK789 from Lahore. The outlet reported that she was then arrested by Canadian immigration authorities after they found several passports belonging to different people in her luggage. The Express Tribune, an English-language newspaper based in Pakistan, also referred to passports in a news story about the incident published March 29. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the CBSA confirmed the arrest but said the items were not passports. “On March 28, 2024, a flight attendant for Pakistan International Airlines arriving at Pearson International Airport was sent to Secondary for examination and within one of their suitcases the examining border services officer located two counterfeit CBSA port stamps,” she said. The 43-year-old female flight attendant has been charged with one count of smuggling, one count of forgery instruments and one count of counterfeiting mark. “To be clear, [the flight attendant] … had two physical CBSA counterfeit port stamps, not stamp impressions.” A port stamp is a rubber stamp used by border officials to indicate the date and location of an entry or exit from that country.<br/>