LONDON: A British air steward working for Emirates was sentenced to jail for eight years on Wednesday for attempting to smuggle £100,000 (Dh520,000) of heroin into the UK on a flight from Dubai to Manchester last year.
30-year-old Zohaab Sadique, from Oldham, greater Manchester, brought a kilogram of the deadly drug back on board the business class flight in January 2017, which he had hidden behind his own seat in the plane, using his knowledge of what could get through security checks.
After the A380 landed, officers from Border Force North stopped a bus which was transferring cabin crew from the plane to the terminal. CCTV from the vehicle showed Sadique attempting to hide his bag but sniffer dogs discovered the heroin.
Following his arrest, officers of the National Crime Agency (NCA) examined his phone and found pictures of the drug on it. Sadique pleaded guilty to charge of importing class A drugs, and was sentenced at Manchester Crown Court.
Jon Hughes, operations manager at the NCA, said: “Zohaab Sadique attempted to use his privileged access and knowledge of the systems in place at the airport for criminal purposes.
“Corrupt insiders like him are very dangerous people, and provide an important service to the organised criminal networks involved in smuggling drugs and other illicit commodities into the UK. This is why tackling corruption at the border is such a priority for us.”
He added: “The close partnership between the NCA and Border Force was crucial to this investigation, and by putting Sadique behind bars we have protected the public.”
Paul Airlie, deputy director of Border Force North, said: “The expertise of Border Force officers – and our detector dogs – stopped a significant amount of dangerous drugs reaching our streets and was the crucial first step in bringing Sadique to justice.
“This case shows that there is no one type of drug smuggler and Border Force officers need to remain vigilant at all times to prevent illegal importations, no matter how well they are concealed or who by.
“We will continue working closely with our law enforcement partners like the NCA to tackle drug smuggling and bring those responsible to justice.”
