A pregnant British woman could face the death penalty in Pakistan after she was caught trying to smuggle heroin worth £3.2million. Khadija Shah, 25, was attempting to return to Birmingham with her two children when she was arrested by police officers who uncovered 140lb of the drug concealed inside clothes in three suitcases. She claimed she took the bags as a favour for men she met in Pakistan and did not know what was in them. Authorities in the capital Islamabad suspect the men were gangsters.
The haul is believed to be the biggest of the Class A drug ever recovered at Islamabad airport destined for the streets of Britain. Under Pakistani law, anyone arrested with drugs weighing more than 22lb (10kg) faces at least life imprisonment and at most the death penalty. She had been on holiday in Pakistan for a month and a half, staying with relatives in Mirpur, before lodging at a guest house in Islamabad. Her children, Aleesha Munir, four, and Ibrahim Munir, six, are from a previous relationship, and she is now pregnant by her boyfriend Amar Ali. Mr Ali, who plans to travel to Pakistan to pick up her children, revealed that she ‘stupidly’ agreed to take the bags even though he told her she should not do it. He said he spoke to Miss Shah on the phone before she left for the airport.
She said men had approached her asking if she could do them a favour by taking luggage back to the UK for them. She said: ‘This morning when I was coming out of the guest house to leave for the airport, someone came to the guest house and requested me to carry his bags along with me and hand them over to his relative in Birmingham. I had no idea what was inside.’ The haul is believed to be the biggest of the Class A drug ever recovered at Islamabad airport destined for the streets of Britain. Under Pakistani law, anyone arrested with drugs weighing more than 22lb (10kg) faces at least life imprisonment and at most the death penalty. She had been on holiday in Pakistan for a month and a half, staying with relatives in Mirpur, before lodging at a guest house in Islamabad. Her children, Aleesha Munir, four, and Ibrahim Munir, six, are from a previous relationship, and she is now pregnant by her boyfriend Amar Ali. Mr Ali, who plans to travel to Pakistan to pick up her children, revealed that she ‘stupidly’ agreed to take the bags even though he told her she should not do it. He said he spoke to Miss Shah on the phone before she left for the airport.
At Miss Shah’s home yesterday, Mr Ali said: ‘She was supposed to be coming home today. ‘I spoke to her on the phone but got cut off. I told her not to do that. I told her to trust no one. 'When I was there recently everyone there wants to be your friend because you’re from England. People try to get you to take bags to the UK for them. ‘I said, “Make sure you don’t take any luggage for anyone”.’ Speaking to Mr Ali while in custody in Islamabad yesterday, Miss Shah claimed she had been beaten up by police and feared for the safety of her children.
Senior officials in Islamabad said Miss Shah had been acting suspiciously at the airport. ‘Her movements compelled us to check the luggage properly,’ said one. ‘The three bags were apparently filled with household goods and clothes. When properly checked, contraband was recovered.’
