TOKYO - A VIETNAM Airlines pilot was arrested on Wednesday in Japan for allegedly trying to smuggle home goods stolen by pickpockets in an apparent million-dollar crime ring, police said.

Dang Xuan Hop, 33, a co-pilot for the Vietnamese carrier, was detained at Narita International Airport near Tokyo after a police investigation resulted in the arrest of 85 other people, a police spokesman said.

The criminal ring allegedly snatched cosmetics, clothing and other goods in public places. Police said the stolen goods were worth a total of more than 140 million yen (S$2.33 million).

Dang was arrested on allegations he knowingly carried a box filled with 27 stolen items given to him by another Vietnamese to Kansai International Airport in Osaka, police said.

Police suspect he regularly transported stolen goods. Dang denied wrongdoing, saying that he did not know the goods were stolen, according to police. -- AFP