ISLAMABAD: The Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) has unearthed drug trafficking mafia allegedly involved in smuggling of drugs via Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) aircrafts, ANF Director General Major General Musarrat Nawaz said Friday.
The ANF has rounded up 12 suspects from Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi, said the director general during a press conference here on Friday. “The suspects included PIA employees and personnel of Airport Security Force (ASF),” he said, adding that the suspects would stash heroin and other drugs in hidden chambers of PIA planes and smuggle it abroad.
He said that the ANF had unearthed four cases of drug trafficking using PIA aircrafts during the last three months, which tarnished the image of the national flag carrier globally.
Giving details, he said that 15kg heroin was found hidden in PIA Boeing 777 on April 3 in the first case, while 11kg heroin was recovered at Heathrow Airport on May 15 in the second. On May 22, 14.7kg heroin was recovered from yet another Boeing 777 at Benazir Bhutto Airport, while 2.4kg heroin was found in another Boeing 777 aircraft at Karachi Airport on May 31. He said that over 100 staffers of several organisations, including PIA and ASF, were interrogated, while scanning of all available data was also evaluated. Resultantly, the ANF unearthed at least two major Karachi-based drug trafficking rings.
“Those arrested include former PIA baggage employee Akbar alias Badshah, PIA Cleaner Pervaiz Masih and his accomplice Shahid, a PIA driver. Both of them were working for a drug-peddler, Shahida, who was arrested in Nepal few years ago. Besides, PIA Traffic Supervisor (Karachi) Pervaiz Alam and two shuttle operators, including Shujat Hussain and Muhammad Saqib, and three sanitary workers Iqbal Masih, Maqbool Masih and Gopi Darshan were also arrested,” said the DG.
“Moreover, PIA Maintenance Staff (HTV Operator) Imran Baig, two PIA engineering staffers (Waseem Fareedi and Syed Ghulam Yazdani), Saleem Natiq (a PIA employee), former PIA low-rank employee Saleem Khan and Syed Anwar Shah of the PIA IT Department were also apprehended.”
Published in Daily Times, June 24th, 2017.
