KARACHI: National Assembly Standing Committee has advised Chairman FBR Nisar Mohammad Khan to form a committee comprising representation from Customs and ANF for the purpose of investigating the case wherein heroin was found in the lavatory of PIA aircraft.
ANF had approached National Assembly seeking authority to investigate the case. However, the Customs explained to the legislators that the case could not legally be handed over to ANF as MCC Preventive was the detecting agency and MC Preventive was pursuing the case at the court.
To this, National Assembly advised Chairman FBR to form a joint committee to proceeed with the case. Customs would lead the committee, which comprises of Additional Collector Feroz Alam Junejo, General Manager PIA Major Nadeem, Assistant Director ASF Waheed Shah and a colonel from ANF. The committee is advised to submit final report by September 05, 2016.
It may be mentioned here that PIA Aircraft Pk-211 made a technical landing at Karachi airport and on subsequent search/examination, 3.0 KG of heroin wrapped in packets were recovered from the toilets of the aircraft. FIR was lodged and investigation was started. Meanwhile, M/s PIA sacked three employees on the basis of their internal investigation for being involved in this heinous act.
Immediately after, MCC Preventive seized another 27 KG of heroin from an aircraft initiated again from Islamabad. It may be mentioned here that M/s PIA staff and staff at Islamabad airport extended cooperation to the investigation, however information regarding the sacking of employees was not shared.
In the final challan, MCC Preventive has established that above mentioned three employees of M/s PIA were culprits, while further investigation is underway and court has been prayed that any subsequent development would be brought to the notice of court through supplementary challan/report.