KARACHI: Pakistan Customs has beefed up surveillance and checking of passengers at all airports across the country.
Sources told Customs Today that surveillance and checking of the passengers at all airports was enhanced after 20 kilogramme heroin recovered from a Pakistan International Airline plane (flight No PK785) in London.
Sources said , along with other airports of the country, the Customs officers have started keeping an eagle’s eye on suspects involved in smuggling at Jinnah International Airport whereas strict checking of passengers and their luggage is being carried out.
Sources revealed that last day PIA security, Anti-Narcotics Force and Customs officers carried out a joint search operation in different international flights.
It is pertinent to mention that the crew members of PIA PK-785, including pilot Captain Hamid Gardezi, copilot Sikandar Khan, flight purser Shamshad Agha, Shama Zubari, Tanvir Fatima, M Shajeel, Imran Khan, Atif Ali Qureshi, B Bilal Baakza, Neelofar Zulfiqar Memon, Nazneen Iqbal, Mehwish Jahan, Sana Iqbal, Munaza Yasmeen, Sana Nasim, and Sadia Kanwal, were detained for eight hours at the Heathrow Airport by the customs based on information that drugs were being smuggled through the aircraft with the likelihood of some crew members being involved. The plane had arrived from Karachi to London.
The London customs during a strip search of the aircraft found heroin hidden in the aircraft. Crew baggage was searched, each member, including the pilot, was interrogated. The customs allowed them to leave the airport after taking their fingerprints; and police confiscated their passports which were released after forensic investigations.
There is a standard operating procedure which requires thorough checking of an aircraft’s interior and cargo by a joint team of customs, ASF, ANF and airline’s technical staff. Sniffer dogs are also used by ANF and ASF to detect any hidden drugs then the certificate is submitted to a captain before departure.
