Czech model acquitted in drug case leaves Pakistan prison

Tereza Hluskova was arrested at Lahore airport for trafficking nine kilogrammes of heroin in 2018

A Czech model sentenced to over eight years in prison for drug trafficking in Pakistan in 2019 was released on Saturday after her acquittal this month, the Czech foreign minister said.

Tereza Hluskova, 25, was arrested at the airport in the Lahore for trafficking nine kilogrammes of heroin in January 2018.

Footage released by Pakistani customs officials showed authorities uncovering drugs hidden in her suitcase as she was trying to board a flight headed for the United Arab Emirates.

Hluskova, who insisted someone had placed the drugs in her suitcase, was sentenced in March 2019 to eight years and eight months in prison and was also fined.

Also read: Czech model acquitted in heroin smuggling case

But a court of appeals acquitted her on November 1 as "the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt", according to her lawyer Saiful Malook.

"The Czech citizen was released from prison in Pakistan today," Czech Foreign Minister Jakub Kulhanek tweeted.

"Our embassy will now help her arrange a trip back to the Czech Republic," he added.

🇨🇿🇵🇰 Česká občanka byla dnes propuštěna z vězení v #Pákistán. Odvolací soud ji osvobodil 1.11. Naše ambasáda jí nyní bude nápomocná při zajištění cesty zpět do ČR. Na výslovné přání rodiny nebudeme poskytovat další detaily.

— MZV ČR (@mzvcr) November 20, 2021

Pakistan shares a long porous border with Afghanistan, which is the world's largest illicit opium producer despite a decade of costly US and international counter-narcotics programmes.

Drug trafficking is a serious offence in Pakistan and arrests at airports are not uncommon.