RAWALPINDI, Aug 23: A British Pakistani woman traveling to Manchester overnight ended up in police lock-up instead after she got into a brawl with Airport Security staff over her cartons of cigarettes, airport sources told Dawn on Tuesday.

A black belt holder in karate and associated with a teaching institution in UK, Zakia Bibi allegedly lost temper when told by female security staff that she not allowed take cigarettes out of the country  “First she slapped one Nosheen and then pounced upon two of her colleagues who came to her rescue,” the sources said. She was said to be carrying 89 cartons of cigarettes.

Bibi was arrested for obstructing airport security staff in their official tasks.

At the check-in of passengers for Pakistan International Airlines flight PK-701 for Manchester, the Airport Security Force’s staff stopped Zakia Bibi from taking cigarettes cartons with her.

The source said she told the staff that Anti-Narcotics Force and Customs counters had cleared her luggage after she told them about the packets of cigarettes.

Though the show of “karate skills” created panic, none of the male officers intervened. The woman was taken into custody and handed over to the police. The CCTV footage also showed her slapping one of female security staff.

However, the police said the woman alleged in her statement that the staff demanded money for clearing her baggage – an allegation denied by the ASF staff.

Chief security officer of ASF was not available for comments.