Smuggling bid foiled: 3kg heroin recovered from PIA's Dubai-bound flight

Unclaimed item found in bundle of tissue rolls lying in middle of the aisle in PK-271

KARACHI: It would have been another embarrassing moment for the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) if the pilot of a Dubai-bound flight PK-271 from Islamabad on Wednesday had not made the critical decision to land the aircraft in Karachi.

Minutes after the flight had taken-off from the Benazir International Airport, one of the crew members spotted an unclaimed bundle of tissue rolls lying in middle of the aisle. Nobody claimed it when inquired.



"The pilot was informed, and they found heroin in the package. That's all we know at the moment," a PIA official said.

There was approximately 3kg of heroin – worth enough to buy a villa in Dubai or go on a world tour.

Instead of taking the flight to its destination, the captain landed the aircraft at the Karachi airport where Airport Security Force (ASF) took the bundle in its custody and sealed it.

The flight was later allowed to proceed to Dubai. No arrests were made.



Questions have been raised on the way entire episode was handled.

"As per our SOP we can only touch a suspicious package after taking proper precautions," said a crew member, who was not on the flight.

According to officials, whoever put the package on the plane would go scot-free as no action was taken.

"But it would have been a disaster if the ASF had tried interviewing everyone on board," another official added.

The last few years have seen a rise in number of cases where PIA staffers have been found smuggling items, including drugs, cigarettes, mobile phones, illegal passports. Others were allegedly caught laundering money, both at airports in Pakistan and abroad.

Following the cases, PIA management began a crackdown against air crews and terminated contracts of the employees involved.

However, no concrete effort has been seen to figure out what has led to increase in the number of such incidents.

When it comes to drugs, even the Pakistan’s Anti-Narcotics Force admits challenges in busting an "organised gang", claiming difficulties stem from the supply chain, which is operated clandestinely.