Heroin smuggling to the UK: ANF arrests seven

Britishers arrested by Airport authorities on claiming the 125 textile containers carrying about 250 kg of heroin.

FAISALABAD: As many as seven men were arrested by Anti-Narcotics Force on Tuesday on indication of two men arrested at an airport in the United Kingdom for smuggling heroin hidden inside textile containers sent from Faisalabad. Six of these were identified by the ANF as Ahmad Ali Bhatti, Nadeem Akram, Lateef Gill, Sagheer Saeed, Munawwar and Farqan Aziz. Steward Thames and James Masih were arrested by Airport authorities at Yorkshire on claiming the 125 textile containers carrying about 250 kilogramme of heroin. Each box contained 16 packets all carrying 125 gram heroin. An ANF official requesting anonymity said the seven suspects had been sent to an undisclosed location after a number of telephone calls were received from influential people for their release. He said the boxes carrying heroin were packed at the godown of a reputed textile firm at the Small Industrial Estate. He said the officials responsible for letting these containers leave Paksitan would also be arrested.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 11^th, 2012.