[Source: Reuters]

Early in the morning on June 18, a message from an unknown account slipped into the TikTok inbox of a flight attendant in ‌Bangkok with a series of questions: “Are you flying to Australia? Do you do carry-for-hire? What is your rate?”

The 30-year-old, who flies for a regional budget carrier, ignored the message and forgot about it — until Tuesday, when a Thai Airways (THAI.BK), opens new tab flight attendant was charged with importing more than one kilogram (2.2 pounds) of heroin into Australia hidden in several tote bags.

The rare detention of a national airline cabin staff has triggered ​alarm in Thailand, raising questions about security measures at airports and concern that international trafficking networks are targeting air crew in their attempts to get illicit ​drugs to lucrative markets beyond the Southeast Asian nation.

“According to reports, in the first half of this year, there have already been ⁠at least six cases of people travelling from Thailand who were charged with commercial drug trafficking,” Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said at a meeting on Friday of ​the top national anti-drug committee.

“This is considered a high number… and it damages the country’s image,” he said.

Thailand’s main airport operator will improve baggage screening and inspections, including those of ​crew members, and airlines will take serious disciplinary actions against staff carrying or accepting items on behalf of others, a government spokesperson said.

“I don’t reply to strangers like this,” the Bangkok flight attendant told Reuters, referring to the account that messaged her. She asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue. “We’ve been constantly warned about this, no carry-for-hire. It’s a well-known rule.”

The unknown ​account — named “Powder is Powder” in Thai — was linked to drug trafficking networks that create fake social media accounts to find people to move illicit substances across borders, said ​Areepak Ngernbamroong, a spokesperson for Thailand’s Office of the Narcotics Control Board.