ASF foils bid to smuggle foreign currency worth millions at Islamabad airport

British-Pakistani woman was allowed to leave considering her age and health

RAWALPINDI: The Airport Security Force (ASF) thwarted an attempt of foreign currency smuggling at Islamabad airport after arresting a British-Pakistani woman in possession of a huge amount of foreign currency on Sunday.

Zubaida Begum was taken into custody for carrying a hefty foreign currency onboard on a PIA flight to Manchester, United Kingdom.

As per the details, after the suspect passed through the customs clearance counter into the departure lounge her luggage was manually searched by the ASF officials which led to the recovery of 21,435 UK pounds, 2,717 Saudi riyal and Rs81,520, amounting to almost 4 million Pakistani rupees.



Refuting the smuggling allegations, the accused said she had gotten the amount by selling her property and she was not aware of the law pertaining to the foreign currency holding limit while traveling abroad.

After completing all legal requirements, the ASF handed over the suspect to the customs authorities.

However, on submission of an affidavit, the elderly woman was allowed to go home considering her age and health. She could be summoned any time for the investigation, customs officials added.

The recovered currency had been confiscated as per law.

It is pertinent to mention that those travelling abroad are only allowed to carry a maximum amount equals to 10,000 US dollars.