Customs staff recovers 16kg heroin at Karachi airport

19 October 2011 03:24 am

Pakistan Customs’ Drug Enforcement Cell (DEC), Karachi Airport Unit, on Tuesday claimed to have recovered 16kg's of fine quality heroin being smuggled to Sri Lanka.

Custom official Qamar Thalho said that the DEC staff intercepted a 41-year-old Pakistani passenger Syed Akhtar Hussain Qadri, who was reported at the International Departure Hall of the Jinnah International Airport to board Air Lanka’s flight UL-184 for Colombo.

The passenger, a frequent traveller, was carrying a large consignment of mechanical gears packed in four large luggage bags. Surprisingly, the gears were given a dirty untouchable look by pasting black grease, which is normally not done in case of exporting goods. This aroused suspicion of the Customs staff and as such one piece of the gear was dismantled with great difficulty, which revealed that contraband heroin had artfully been concealed inside hollow cavity made especially for the purpose. Consequent upon this discovery, the entire consignment was subjected to thorough examination, which required making special arrangements for cutting the metallic parts for retrieving the drug.

This difficult task ultimately led to the recovery of 16kg's of fine quality heroin from 520 mechanical gears.

It may also be added here that earlier on October 13, the DEC had arrested another frequent travelling passenger Muhammad Asad following the recovery of 1kg of heroin from his possession which he had concealed in wafer chocolates and lollypop balls.

Consequent upon recovery and seizure of contraband narcotics, the accused passenger Qadri has been arrested and a prosecution case under Control of Narcotics Substances Act, 1997 has been registered.

Further investigations were in progress. (Source: Daily Times)