<p>The cabin crew of a Pakistan International Airlines flight was detained for several hours at John F Kennedy Airport in New York for allegedly smuggling hundreds of cartons of cigarettes and dozens of mobile phone sets, officials said on Thursday.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Authorities at the US airport held eight members of the crew of PIA flight PK-721 yesterday after over 500 cigarette cartons and a large number of mobile sets, mostly BlackBerrys and iPhones, were found in their baggage. The items were in excess of the permissible limits, officials said.<br /><br />The authorities interrogated the crew members for five hours and released them after imposing a heavy fine on PIA, officials said. PIA spokesman Sultan Hasan described the incident as unfortunate and said an inquiry had been initiated against the crew members.<br /><br />"Strict action will be taken against them if the charges against them are proved," he said.<br /><br />Incidentally, earlier this week, another PIA crew member had been jailed for 32 months for trying to smuggle dozens of counterfeit passports and fake passport materials into the UK.</p>
<p>The cabin crew of a Pakistan International Airlines flight was detained for several hours at John F Kennedy Airport in New York for allegedly smuggling hundreds of cartons of cigarettes and dozens of mobile phone sets, officials said on Thursday.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Authorities at the US airport held eight members of the crew of PIA flight PK-721 yesterday after over 500 cigarette cartons and a large number of mobile sets, mostly BlackBerrys and iPhones, were found in their baggage. The items were in excess of the permissible limits, officials said.<br /><br />The authorities interrogated the crew members for five hours and released them after imposing a heavy fine on PIA, officials said. PIA spokesman Sultan Hasan described the incident as unfortunate and said an inquiry had been initiated against the crew members.<br /><br />"Strict action will be taken against them if the charges against them are proved," he said.<br /><br />Incidentally, earlier this week, another PIA crew member had been jailed for 32 months for trying to smuggle dozens of counterfeit passports and fake passport materials into the UK.</p>