23kg heroin seized at ZIA

Packs of heroin, and lemons used to conceal and smuggle those out at Zia International Airport yesterday. Passports of the two alleged smugglers, inset.
Photo: STAR

Customs officials and members of the task force working at Zia International Airport (ZIA) seized 23.5kg heroin from the luggage of two China-bound Bangladeshi citizens yesterday.
They also arrested the two in connection with drug trafficking.
Customs officials suspect the arrestees--Ariful Islam Bhuiyan of Shantinagar and Mahmud Ali of Agamosi Lane of Kotwali in the capital--are members of an international drug smuggling syndicate.
At a press briefing, the airport customs officials said primary chemical tests using sophisticated kits imported from the US suggest that the drug is processed heroin and its estimated street value is Tk 23.5 crore.
This is the largest ever heroin haul since the sensational 24kg seizure at Hotel Rajmoni Isha Khan on September 20, 1999. Three Pakistani nationals--Ibrahim, Rais Khan and Alekjan--were arrested with the heroin. Rais Khan and Alekjan were given death sentences on July 7, 2005 while Ibrahim died in jail earlier.
Additional Commissioner, Customs, at ZIA Humayun Kabir at the press briefing said Bangladesh has been used as a route for drug trafficking. He also said the arrestees confessed to their involvement in drug smuggling for quite some time and that they visited a number of countries for this purpose.
He said Ariful and Mahmud aged between 30 and 35 were going to Kunming via Beijing on China Eastern Airlines flight MU-2035 with business visas.
Kabir said they seek China's help to find out the arrestees' contact in China.
THE ARREST
Members of customs and taskforce at the airport arrested Ariful and Mahmud as they were trying to flee when chemical powder was detected in five luggage they were carrying with them during scanning around 11:00am.
The heroin wrapped in 16 carbon-paper packs was kept hidden under false bottoms of their luggage. There were lemons, spices, packs of tea and lentils on top.
Humayun Kabir said the smugglers used carbon paper so that scanners could not detect the heroin and lemon, spices, tea and lentils were placed there so that none can get the smell of heroin.
He said they took the luggage to customs hall where experts from the Department of Narcotics Control (DNC) were called in for primary tests.
Three cases were filed against the two under the Narcotics Control Act, the Customs Act and Special Powers Act with Airport Police Station.
ARRESTEES' SAY
The arrestees initially gave confusing statements.
At the press briefing, they first said that they are luggage traders and were going to Kunming on a business trip.
They also said when they were getting down from a bus at the airport a man approached them and asked them to take the luggage to Kamal restaurant in Kunming. They said the luggage had been given to them to "blackmail" them.
They contradicted their earlier statement minutes later saying one Abbas was supposed to receive the bags from them and a brother of Abbas gave them the luggage at the airport.