PHOTO: FILE
Customs deputy collectors Ali Raza Turabi and Amjad Aman Laghari have foiled three major attempts to smuggle the narcotics, particularly white and brown heroin, to foreign countries via PIA aircrafts.
On May 25, Customs officials seized nine small cotton bags containing white heroin powder, weighing 27 kilogrammes, from the rear portion of an aircraft, bearing registration number AP-BGK 777, which was parked at Bay-2, inside Isphani Hanger for maintenance.
Preliminary inquiry revealed that the aircraft was deployed as PK 744 on May 21 for Islamabad-Jeddah sector, then PK 760 on May 22 for Jeddah to Lahore and finally PK-305 from Lahore to Karachi sectors on the same day. After landing at Karachi airport, the aircraft was parked at the hanger for maintenance.
In another bid, Customs seized heroin concealed in the same aircraft on June 1. Two polythene packets, containing one kilogramme light brown heroin power, were seized from the two lavatories of the same aircraft.
Customs also seized 700 grammes of heroin hidden in another PIA aircraft, bearing registration number AP-BGJ 777, parked at Bay-25 on June 3.
All three cases have been registered at the special court for control of narcotic substances, informed Customs District South chief collector Muhammad Zahid Khokhar while speaking to the media.
“Efforts are being made to arrest the culprits involved in the crime,” he said. “A high level investigation team led by the additional collector of Customs has visited Islamabad and is currently conducting a comprehensive investigation in Karachi and Lahore to dig out the real culprits.”
The officer said that the total quantity of the seized drugs is approximately 29 kilogrammes and its value, as per international market, is around about Rs290 million.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 7th, 2016.
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