3,400kg of heroin found in Colombo-bound man’s luggage

The passenger, a Pakistani national, has been taken into custody and a case lodged 

Karachi 

Customs officials arrested a Colombo-bound Pakistani national at the Karachi airport after 3,400 kilograms of heroin were found concealed in a novel manner within his luggage.

Briefing the media regarding the seizure, Amjad Awan, additional collector of Customs Preventive at Jinnah International Airport, said his teams had been tipped off about a potential smuggling bid and intercepted a passenger identified as Raz Moner. 

The passenger, as per his travel documents, was scheduled to board Flight No UL-184 from Karachi to Colombo. Awan said Moner was given a chance to declare whether he was carrying any contraband goods or foreign currency in his luggage or on his person, but he denied having anything illegal.

Since the Customs officials had solid information, he added, they went ahead with a thorough search of his baggage – comprising three cardboard cartons and one hand trolley bag – but found only personal belongings, assorted decorative mirrors and Islamic tughras, or calligraphic monograms.

 With all the contents taken out of the suspect’s baggage, Awan said, the Customs officials’ attention was drawn to the irregular weight and structure of the cardboard boxes. “Our men cut open the lining of the cartons and found several packets of heroin powder – wrapped in corrugated paper pasted with polythene – concealed along the cartons’ bottom lining,” he stated.

Awan added that a Narco Testing Kit positively identified the drugs as heroin and the total quantity was calculated to be 3,400 kilograms. 

The passenger, after these legalities, was taken into custody, his travelling documents seized and served with a notice of arrest. An FIR was also lodged in the Court of Special Judge Narcotics, Karachi under CNS Act, 1997.

 Irfan Ali, a Customs spokesman, further told the media that during the first quarter of the current year, they had seized 1,407 grams of cocaine and 20 kilograms of heroin powder at the Karachi airport. 

 In addition, valuable merchandise including 3,053 assorted mobile phones worth Rs29 million, 643 liquor bottles, 4.5 grams of silver jewellery worth Rs0.95 million and semi-precious stones worth Rs0.50 million were also seized. 

Apart from this, a total of eight narcotics seizures were made at the Karachi airport’s international departure lounge, in which 6.02 kilograms of heroin and 1.970 kilograms of amphetamine were recovered.