PIA fires 13 employees in heroin smuggling case: report

0
224

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on Friday submitted a detailed investigative report before the Senate Special Committee about the incident where huge amounts of heroin were found on a PIA flight from Islamabad to London on May 15.

According to British authorities, a huge “quantity of heroin” was recovered on a PIA flight that landed at Heathrow Airport.

13 PIA staff members were dismissed from the engineering department, along with supervisors and technicians after an investigation was conducted regarding the matter.

The report says that all airports in Pakistan have increased their security tremendously and that non-essential personnel will not be allowed to approach the plane in the hanger. The report also states that all airports in Pakistan are now monitored through closed-circuit television cameras.

Pakistan has become a breeding ground for narcotics smuggling of late. Earlier this year, around 20 kilograms of heroin were confiscated from a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) London-bound flight before its departure from Islamabad Airport. Earlier that month, British officials had acquired a “quantity of heroin” in a PIA flight after its landing at London’s Heathrow Airport.

There have been instances in the past where PIA crew members have been arrested for being involved in drugs smuggling.