En route: PIA steward arrested with 4.5kg hashish

The suspected smuggler was scheduled to fly to Birmingham.

RAWALPINDI: The Anti Narcotics Force (ANF) on Tuesday arrested an employee of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) at Benazir Bhutto International Airport for drug trafficking.

The PIA steward, identified as Irfanullah Shah, was arrested in possession of 4.5 kilogrammes of hashish concealed in his bag.

An ANF official, who requested not to be named, told The Express Tribune that the suspect, who hailed from Swabi, has been serving in PIA as steward for the last eight years. He was scheduled to fly to Birmingham, UK, before he was arrested outside the departure lounge during routine surveillance.



The official said Shah is being interrogated and it is not clear whether he was trafficking the narcotics alone or in connivance with other officials. He said the ANF would soon reach the source of his supply.

This is embarrassing for the country that an employee of our national flag carrier has been held with narcotics, an official of the Civil Aviation Authority said when asked to comment on the development. The recovered drugs are worth approximately Rs30 million in the international market, informed the ANF official.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 31^st, 2014.