Qantas worker, 29, allegedly caught importing 4.1L of “date rape” drug precursor GBL into Sydney from South Africa

An airline employee will remain in custody on remand after he allegedly imported 4.1L of GBL — a precursor to “date rape” drug GHB — in shampoo bottles into Sydney.

The shampoo bottles allegedly containing the drug GBL. Picture: AFP

A Qantas employee has been charged for allegedly importing 4.1L of GBL — a precursor to “date rape” drug GHB — in shampoo bottles into Sydney on a flight he was working on.

Aiyaz Khan, 29, had just landed into Sydney Airport on international flight QF64 from Johannesburg, South Africa on Saturday, when Australian Border Force (ABF) officers allegedly found three shampoo bottles and a water bottle in a clip seal bag, wrapped in clothing.

Initial testing of the liquid contents allegedly returned a positive reading of GBL.

ABF officers reported the matter to the Australian Federal Police, who seized the bottles and arrested Khan, before charging him with importing a commercial quantity of the border-controlled drug gamma butyrolactone, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

Khan, from Newtown, appeared at Downing Centre Local Court on Monday and was remanded in custody to return to the same court in February.

It is understood Khan will be stood down by Qantas as a result of the charges being laid, with a spokesperson for the airline saying in a statement they would “work closely with the AFP and provide all assistance necessary for its investigation”.

AFP Detective Acting Superintendent Dom Stephenson said investigators will continue to be relentless in its pursuit of anyone who uses their work or community position to enable drug trafficking or other criminal activities.

“The AFP is committed and focused on identifying and disrupting those who attempt to import harmful illicit substances into our country,” Act Supt Stephenson said.

“We will allege the man charged abused his trusted position as an airline employee and sought to use that access to smuggle a commercial quantity of drugs into Australia.

“The AFP and its partners work closely to protect the Australian community from the scourge of illicit drugs.”

ABF Superintendent Elke West said its officers were consistently working with partner agencies to monitor relevant information to be able to act promptly to potential threats.

“Domestic and international collaboration is key to stamp out the threat of trusted insiders, with criminal syndicates attempting to exploit and recruit individuals to advance their illicit drug trafficking ventures,” Supt West said.

“Our ABF officers use several detection capabilities to identify passengers and crew who may be attempting to thwart our border controls.

“With the evolving threat of trusted insiders, border agencies will continue to try and target any vulnerability within the supply chain.”