Cabin crew member Fariq Aqbal Omar was arrested by Australian Border Force personnel at Melbourne Airport with the drug in his pants and vest in May last year, news.com.au reported.

The 10 packages of pure heroin had a street value of more than A$3 million (RM8.7 million), it said.

Fariq, 34, was sentenced to five years and six months’ jail by the Victorian County Court in April and must serve at least three years before he is eligible for parole.

News.com.au reported that the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions has lodged an appeal against the sentence, saying it is too lenient.

According to the news portal, Aqbal was caught after officers noticed his behaviour at the airport and asked him and his colleagues to return from their bus to the baggage area.

He later said he had been paid A$500 to import the packages, which were to be collected from a man at his hotel room.

Aqbal, who is married with two children in Malaysia, said he thought the packages were “shisha” or tobacco, the report said. He had no criminal record before he was caught.

The maximum penalty for importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug is life imprisonment, news.au.com said.