Heroin worth Rs.10 crore found 14 months after seizure

Amritsar, Nov 20: This is one "success" that has left the customs department in Amritsar sector embarrassed. Over 14 months after they seized fake currency from a woman coming from Pakistan, officials checked the rest of her baggage and found heroin worth Rs.10 crores (Rs. 100 million) in it.

"We checked her baggage now and recovered 2 kg of heroin. It was hidden carefully in tiffins in it. The baggage was checked following a tip-off," Customs Commissioner Ranjit Singh admitted.

The latest recovery has left customs officials even more embarrassed than feeling happy about it as it took them over 14 months to make the "recovery".

Pakeezah was caught with fake currency with the nominal value of Rs.10 lakh (Rs.1 million), hidden inside slippers and other material, when she arrived on the Samjhauta Express at the Attari railway station, 25 km from here, September last year.

Customs officials, however, at that time did not bother to check the rest of her baggage properly. And when they did so now, they hit upon another bounty - 2 kg of heroin worth Rs.10 crore (Rs.100 mn) in the international market.

Punjab is a major transit and delivery point for illegal drugs and fake currency smuggling from Pakistan.