23-Year-Old Flight Stewardess Allegedly Caught With Drugs Could Face Death Penalty: Report

The parents of a 23-year-old flight stewardess fear that their daughter could face the death penalty after she was allegedly caught with drugs in Saudi Arabia.

Ilaria De Rosa, a flight stewardess at the Lithuanian airline Avion Express, was arrested on drug possession charges on May 6, The Mirror reported.

Since then, her parents have not heard from the air hostess, who hails from the small Italian town of Resana in the province of Treviso, according to the outlet.

The parents only found out about what had happened to their daughter several days after De Rosa's flight landed at the King Abdulaziz International Airport at the Red Sea resort of Jeddah earlier this month.

After not hearing from De Rosa, who reportedly stayed in touch with her parents wherever she went, the parents said they reached out to police.

According to Italian media, the 23-year-old, who has no criminal record, had been detained on allegations of international drug trafficking.

In Saudi Arabia, anyone caught trying to smuggle illegal substances into the country faces severe punishment, regardless of the amount and kind of drug.

Italian media said De Rosa's parents reported her missing to police in the town of Castelfranco Veneto on May 8, a day after her phone was turned off and two days after her arrest, initially fearing that their daughter could have been kidnapped.

De Rosa was staying at the Spectrums Residence, a large hotel complex in Jeddah, until her next flight shift.

In video footage from a CCTV camera outside Spectrums Residence, De Rosa could be seen getting into a car with three Arab individuals, according to Italian media.

She reportedly voluntarily does so without any noticeable constraint. However, after that, the air hostess never returned to her room.

The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation is reportedly negotiating with Saudi authorities.

"Being a case involving a fellow citizen of our area, as a parliamentarian, I immediately got in touch with the Foreign Office," Rachele Scarpa, a Democratic Party member of the Italian parliament who represents De Rosa's hometown, stated.

"Obviously, these are complex situations, where prudence and reserve are a must. What I can say is that the Consulate and the Farnesina are dealing with the case with great professionalism," she added. "We need to have faith in the institutions. As always, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will follow the matter with extreme attention."

De Rosa was regularly working on flights to Saudi Arabia. She can speak four languages and graduated with a degree in Human Sciences at the Liceo Statale in Treviso.

She reportedly also lived in Germany and had a brief working experience at NATO before eventually becoming a stewardess.

In related news, a 53-year-old Markham, Illinois, man was sentenced Monday to 375 months in prison.

Carl Murphy was convicted in January of conspiracy to distribute heroin for his role in a large-scale heroin and fentanyl conspiracy, the United States Attorney's Office of the Southern District of Iowa said.

According to authorities, Murphy is a high-ranking member of the Black P Stone Nation, a criminal street gang based in Chicago, and a heroin/fentanyl supplier for numerous street-level dealers in the Des Moines Metro from 2019 through July 2021.

Before his trial, Murphy threatened individuals he believed to be cooperating against him, intimidated potential witnesses, and orchestrated the violent assault of an individual in his jail housing unit.