Heroin "concealed in packets" was seized on board a flight of the ailing Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) at Heathrow airport, British authorities said today (17).
The narcotics was seized from PK 785 passenger plane that arrived at the London airport from Islamabad. The plane was searched and its 14-member crew detained for questioning after it landed at the UKs busiest airport yesterday at 2:50pm.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) confirmed that drugs were found on board the flight.
"National Crime Agency officers are investigating following the seizure of a quantity of heroin found by Border Force officers on board a flight from Pakistan at Heathrow on Monday. No arrests have been made, enquiries are ongoing," an NCA spokesman told Pakistans Geo News.
"Earlier today, passengers disembarked, the flight crew and aircraft were searched by the authorities. More than a dozen crew members were released after being detained for nearly two hours by the British authorities," PIA spokesman Mashood Tajwar said.
"We have not been informed as to why was the crew detained?" he added.
The search was carried out by UK Border Security Agency on suspicion that drugs were hidden on board the aircraft.
PIA has been suffering huge losses and administration is trying to improve the situation but it frequently faces embarrassment.
In January, as many as seven passengers were forced to stand throughout the over three-hour flight from Karachi to Madina after the airline boarded excess passengers in a serious breach of air safety regulations.
A month later, a Heathrow-bound PIA aircraft was intercepted and escorted by fighter jets to Stansted Airport in northeast London because of a "vague security threat".
Later, a suspect was arrested and charged with fraud and misrepresentation by the police.
Clifford had previously pleaded guilty to the murders of BBC sports commentator John Hunt’s wife and two daughters at their home in northwest of London, in July 2024. (Photo: Hertfordshire Police /Handout via REUTERS)
Crossbow murderer found guilty of raping ex-girlfriend
A 26-YEAR-OLD man who murdered three women in a crossbow and stabbing attack has been found guilty of raping one of them, his ex-girlfriend, a British court ruled on Thursday.
Kyle Clifford had previously pleaded guilty to the murders of BBC sports commentator John Hunt’s wife and two daughters at their home in Bushey, northwest of London, in July 2024.
The attack led to a manhunt before Clifford was found injured hours later in a north London cemetery.
A jury at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday convicted Clifford of raping 25-year-old Louise Hunt before killing her.
His sentencing for all the crimes is scheduled for Tuesday.
Clifford had admitted to murdering Carol Hunt, 61, and her daughters Louise and Hannah, 28. He had also pleaded guilty to charges of false imprisonment and possessing offensive weapons but denied raping Louise.
During the trial, the court heard that after killing Carol Hunt, Clifford waited for an hour before attacking Louise, tying her up, raping her, and then killing her with a crossbow. He later killed Hannah when she returned home from work.
The prosecution described Clifford, a former soldier, as committing a "violent, sexual act of spite" and said he was "enraged" after Louise ended their 18-month relationship. They told the court that he had "carefully planned" the attack.
Less than 24 hours before the killings, Clifford had searched for a podcast by social media influencer Andrew Tate, according to the prosecution. They argued that the murders were driven by the "violent misogyny promoted" by Tate.
Justice Joel Bennathan called Clifford’s crimes "dreadful" and "almost unspeakable".
(With inputs from AFP)