KARACHI: One and a half kilograms of off white heroin was recovered from a parcel destined for Toronto, Canada, by the Customs staff of Drug Enforcement Cell, posted at the Pakistan Post’s Express Mail Service.
This was disclosed by MCC Preventive Additional Collector Feroze Alam Junejo and Air Freight Unit Additional Collector Tahir Qureshi in a press conference held at Customs House on Thursday. Wasif Malik and S.M. Raza Naqvi were also present on the occasion along with the other Preventive officials.
They informed that one of their officers got suspicious over few jewelry boxes which were artistically concealed and on suspicion when these boxes were opened one and a half kilograms of heroin powder was recovered. They said that the market value of this heroin powder is approximately R s 15 million.
Seized jewelry boxes were booked by one Nasir son of Khadim Hussain resident of Gujrati Mohalla, Muhammadi Colony, Mauripur Road, Karachi. Prima facie, the address of the consignee and the CNIC were found fake. However, efforts are on to apprehend the culprits who are involved, while Canadian High Commission has also been contacted to locate the consignee Chimpri Barry, Toronto, Ontario, Canada in whose name the parcel was booked, they further said.
In reply to a question, they said that after the incident of celebrity Ayyan Ali and her arrest, now the celebrities have also been put under risk profiling and they would also be checked thoroughly.
They further informed that during the last three months i.e. from January 15 to date, the staff of Drug Enforcement Cell, MCC Preventive, JIAP have foiled numerous attempts of smuggling narcotics which include 1400 grams of Heroin powder from a courier parcel booked through DHL and was destined for United Kingdom in Feb last with an approximate value of Rs. 10.4 million in the international market.
450 gram of heroin powder was recovered from a post parcel at GPO, Karachi destined for Sydney, Australia in the month of January 2015 with an approximate value of Rs. 0.5 million in the international market.
50 grams of Opium from a courier parcel booked through DHL for Ontario, Canada also in the month of January with an approximate value of Rs. 50.000 in the market.
1000 grams of Heroin powder was recovered from the bottom of a suitcase from a Dubai bound passenger by Shaheen Air recently this month, they concluded.