UNITED KINGDOM: British-Pakistani Man Jailed In UK For Using Wife To Smuggle Heroin

A British-Pakistani man from Berkshire who packed his wife’s suitcase with heroin worth almost half a million pounds has been jailed for eight years, according to UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA).

Waseem Anwar Choudry, a cab driver, packed his wife’s luggage with 7.7 pounds of heroin before she traveled from Islamabad to Heathrow Airport in London on June 28.

Choudry, 31, admitted to packing his wife’s bags before her flight, and pleaded guilty to being involved in the importation of 3.5 kilos of class A drugs with a potential street value of £470,000.

British Border Force officers arrested Nazreen Anwar on June 28 when she stepped off a flight from Islamabad at Heathrow. After checking her bags, police discovered that the drugs were in packages that had been sewn inside eight of her dresses.

The 28-year-old told police that she was returning from Pakistan after a holiday and claimed that her husband had given her those dresses. Anwar said she was unaware there were drugs inside her clothes.

Her husband was due to fly back a few days after her but missed his flight. Six weeks later, he was arrested at St Pancras International rail terminal in London, having travelled from Pakistan via Paris.

Siobhan Micklethwaite, from the NCA’s Heathrow border investigation team, said, “This was a cynical attempt to import a large amount of class A drugs by a man who seemed quite happy for his wife to take all the risks on his behalf.”

“Heroin is a dangerous substance which fuels criminality, from the organised gangs and dealers involved in making and distributing it to the street addicts who turn to crime to pay for their habit,” he added