Customs seize: heroin, amphetamine from couple

The accused man and his wife were travelling from Karachi to Jeddah for Umrah

KARACHI: Customs officials claim to have foiled a smuggling bid by arresting a couple from Jinnah International Airport in Karachi on Friday.

“The couple was arrested while they were travelling from Karachi to Jeddah by Shaheen Airline to perform Umrah,” said Customs additional collector Syed Asad Raza Rizvi addressing a press conference at his office on Saturday. Rizvi added that the accused, identified as Gul Sher Buksh and his wife, Reshma, were wearing Ahram and were initially asked if they were carrying any contraband, including narcotics or foreign currency in their baggage but they denied.

Sixteen small polythene packets of heroin powder, weighing 1,270 grammes, were found in their luggage when their baggage was checked. The drugs were hidden in four pairs of plastic slippers and two packets of soap. Custom officials also seized amphetamine from their possession. It was found in two shampoo bottles, in the hollow handle rod and frame of the suitcase, two talcum powder tins and one body lotion bottle.



“The yellow heroin powder and amphetamine were instantly tested with a testing kit, which was positive,” a customs officer said. The heroin powder and amphetamine were seized along with the travelling documents of the passengers. A case was registered against the accused passengers in the court of Special Judge Narcotics Karachi under CNS Act, 1997. Further investigation is under way.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 27^th, 2016.