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SIALKOT, March 27: A local court on Thursday granted a week-long physical remand of the four accused in a drug case in which Anti-narcotics Force had recovered a huge quantity of heroin concealed in soccer balls from a factory in Uggoki a few days ago.
The ANF officials produced the accused, including a factory owner Iqbal Ghuman, before Civil judge-cum-judicial magistrate Muhammad Abu Bakar, amid tight security.
The ANF officials told journalists more than 31kg fine quality heroin worth Rs620 million was recovered in the raid which was to be exported to Spain via Sialkot. The factory had been sealed.
They said out of the four accused held in the raid, two belonged to the NWFP who would supply heroin to the factory.
SCCI: Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Dr Khurram Anwar Khwaja and Dry Port Trust chairman Khwaja Zakaud Din have condemned the drug smuggling bid under the garb of exporting sport products.
They said such black sheep among manufacturers and exporters could tarnish the image of the whole soccer ball industry which was bringing huge profits in the form of foreign exchange to the country.
Meanwhile, in an emergent meeting of Sialkot-based trade bodies, the business community has assured the ANF of its full cooperation in curbing the menace of drug smuggling through sports exports.
