Four Chilean citizens employed as American Airlines (AA, Dallas/Fort Worth) flight attendants have been arrested at Miami International and charged with smuggling more than USD22,000 from Chile into the United States.

Three of the group of four were found to be carrying cash ranging from USD6,371 to USD9,000 during a routine check by Customs and Border Patrol officers on October 21. According to the Miami Herald newspaper, they worked with an unnamed individual to take the money out of Chile in exchange for a 1% cut. None had a licence to transport the cash, a police report said.

The flight attendants now face charges of money laundering and giving false statements to customs officials. The airline said it was working with law enforcement in their investigation.

Citing the police report, CNN said Carlos Alberto Munoz-Moyano, who had arrived on a flight from Santiago de Chile, had declared USD100 in cash. A customs agent subsequently discovered he had USD9,000. The agent alerted colleagues, who found that other attendants from the same fight were carrying large amounts of money.

The others accused were named in the report as Maria Delpilar Roman-Strick and Maria Isabel Wilson-Ossandon. A fourth, Maria Beatriz Pasten-Cuzmar, was arrested but the role she played is unclear.

At least 20 people have been killed in Chile since protests over inequality erupted there more than a week ago, prompted by a rise in subway fares. The unrest has caused the Chilean peso to fall in value.

American Airlines currently operates two flights from Santiago to the United States, 7x weekly each, to Miami and to Dallas/Fort Worth, according to the ch-aviation capacities module.