LONDON (Sapa-AFP) - The pilot and entire crew of a South African Airways plane were arrested Tuesday after 50 kilos of cannabis was found on a flight from Johannesburg to London's Heathrow airport, customs officials said.

The drugs, worth 150,000 pounds (210,000 dollars, 160,000 euros) were found by officers of the UK Borders Agency (UKBA), said a spokesman for HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

The drugs were found in three pieces of baggage. Those arrested on the plane, which landed at London's main airport at 8:00 am (0800 GMT), included both flight and cabin crew, he said.

"When the crew were passing through a customs clearance point... the UKBA officers found a quantity of cannabis in three suitcases," spokesman Bob Gaiger told AFP.

"As a result of that the entire crew of the plane... were arrested and they're now being held in custody and being interviewed by HMRC," he added, confirming that the pilot was also among those detained.

"Interviews will be taking place and will probably go into tomorrow, and then we will decide whether we are going to charge anyone, or release some or all, on bail if necessary," he added.

No further details were immediately available, but the spokesman underlined how seriously British customs take such cases.

"HMRC, together with UKBA, play a vital role in the fight to prevent illegal drugs from entering the UK and in protecting our communities from the violence and corruption that always accompany this hideous trade," he said.

SAA spokeswoman Robyn Chalmers confirmed that all crew members on the Johannesburg-London flight were detained by British customs.

"They are being questioned to identify the owner of the bags," she said in a statement.

An investigation in Johannesburg, involving SAA Aviation Security and the police's crime intelligence unit, was also underway.

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