RAWALPINDI, June 23: The Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) on Thursday foiled a drug smuggling bid at Islamabad airport involving a PIA driver and an ASF official.

ANF Joint Director Rawalpindi Lt-Col Wasif Sajjad said the ANF staff spotted a suspicious passenger when check-in for PIA Tokyo-Beijing flight (PK-852) was underway on Thursday night.

The passenger identified as Liaquat Masih, a resident of Faisalabad, was taken into custody and the ANF staff started the hunt for his accomplices.

While Liaquat was in the ANF custody, he received a call on his cell phone in which a PIA ambulance driver, Wasim Akhtar, said he was waiting for the former in a passenger bus with the consignment — 2kg heroin.

The authorities also arrested the driver who revealed that the Airport Security Force (ASF) ASI Attique Ahmad, who was on leave these days, came to the airport in uniform through cargo gate and delivered the narcotics to him.

According to the plan, the narcotics were to be handed over to Liaquat by the ambo-lifter’s driver while transporting him to the aircraft.

PIA spokesman Mohammad Latif, when contacted, confirmed that a driver of Technical Ground Support (TGS) department had been arrested in connection with the narcotics trafficking attempt.

A report has been sent to the higher authorities for departmental action against the accused.

The ANF is hunting for the ASF’s ASI Attique, a resident of Azad Kashmir.

Meanwhile, in another incident, the ANF arrested three African nationals and seized 150 heroin filled capsules.

One of the accused, Mr Joshwah, had been in Pakistan for the last five years and had married a Pakistani girl.