A South Korean national about to board a plane to Sydney has been arrested after security staff at Melbourne airport allegedly found $370,000 in cash in his carry-on luggage. 

Australian Federal Police officers were called to the airport on Thursday after the 29-year-old was stopped at a screening point.

He was arrested after failing to provide police with enough information about the money in his bag, and later charged with one count of dealing with property reasonably suspected of being proceeds of crime.

Police seized the cash and the man’s mobile phone.

The AFP’s Detective Acting Superintendent Amanda Glover said officers were working constantly to make sure domestic and international flights were not being used as transit routes for criminal activities.

“Unexplained sources of cash are often a sign of underlying criminal activity and the AFP has the ability to put people before court to justify that wealth,” Det Supt Glover said.

The man faced Melbourne’s Magistrates Court on Friday and was granted bail after surrendering his passport to police. His next court appearance is June 9.

By Kathryn Magann in Sydney