Tweaking hairclips: Six kilos of heroin seized at Islamabad airport

Second major bust in two days.

RAWALPINDI:

Customs authorities here on Monday confiscated a consignment bound for Nigeria and recovered six kilograms of heroin and arrested the clearing agent. It was the second major seizure in two days, after eight kilos of the white powder en route to Dubai were recovered from Asadullah, a resident of Gujrat.

According to customs authorities, a consignment booked for Nigeria carrying ladies hairclips was delivered to Benazir Bhutto International Airport by Naseer Khawaja, the clearing agent.

Following a tip off that the hairclips contained narcotics, the customs authorities assigned inspection duty to Pakistan Customs export superintendents Nasir Barlas and Zargham Dil.

While examining the consignment, they found that the outer sides of the clips were lined with heroin, which had been covered up with a plastic coat.

Customs Deputy Collector Imran Bukhari told the media that the upper layer of the clips were clear and underneath the clips there was an extra strip carrying heroin covered with a plastic coating of the same colour as the clips.

The deputy collector said they had taken the clearing agent into custody and had been interrogating him about the particulars of the Nigerian national who booked the consignment for Nigeria.

He said the market value of the confiscated narcotics was about six million dollars and further investigations would reveal the involvement of any Pakistanis in the smuggling attempt as the heroin was apparently of Afghan origin.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 20^th, 2011.