Saudi-bound passenger caught with Rs96m worth of ice at Peshawar airport
The passenger, identified as Jamshed, was travelling to the Kingdom via a private airline and was arrested
March 14, 2019
PESHAWAR: Authorities on Wednesday night recovered ice worth almost Rs96 million from a passenger travelling from Pakistan to Saudi Arabia.
According to Customs officials, a passenger — identified as Jamshed from Swabi — was caught with 950 grammes of ice, the street name for crystal methamphetamine, when his baggage was checked at the Bacha Khan International Airport before boarding the aeroplane.
The recovered ice is said to be valued at almost Rs96 million.
Jamshed, the passenger, was travelling to the Kingdom via a private airline and was consequently arrested. A first information report (FIR) was filed against him.
Earlier this year, it was reported that the government of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province was drafting a new bill to combat the usage, manufacturing, and trafficking of crystal methamphetamine, a highly addictive drug.
Under Pakistan's anti-narcotics laws, a seller needs to possess 100 grams of a drug to be convicted, while meth-sellers don't need to carry more than 50 grams to sell.
Furthermore, separate punishments and fines have been categorised for those found possessing over 1 to 10 grams, 10 to 100 grams, and over 100 grams of Ice, according to officials privy to the development.
"Ice is emerging as a big challenge for the police in the province," Qazi Jamilur Rehman, the head of the Peshawar city police, tells Geo.tv.
Last year, the police caught 341 people dealing in crystal meth in Peshawar alone and recovered 21 grams of the drug. Some of those nabbed were found selling near Peshawar University and other colleges in the city.
The federal government has drafted its own bill to outlaw Ice, which recommends punishment up to life imprisonment for smugglers. It further identifies 2,000 users in Peshawar alone.
