PESHAWAR, July 14: The Anti-Narcotics Force has asked courier companies to install National Database and Registration Authority’s software at their offices in the provincial capital to verify computerized national identity cards of people booking parcels for other countries. Source said the ANF had given the suggestion after recent seizure abroad of narcotics, which had been sent through parcels booked from Peshawar.

Over a dozen attempts of smuggling heroin through courier companies have been foiled in Karachi and abroad during the past one and a half years. All of the seized parcels containing heroin originated from Peshawar, they said. Three such consignments sent through an international courier company had been seized by foreign law-enforcement agencies during the past three months, they said.

Seven parcels with heroin concealed in garments and crockery, booked using fake identity cards with a courier company during the past one and a half years, had been detected by its head office in Karachi, the sources said.

The heroin consignments sent through the international courier company were booked with photocopies of genuine computerized national identity cards but their owners were found innocent during investigation.

The sources said Nadra had asked the ANF to urge courier service providers to purchase its software for verification of the senders’ identity cards before booking their parcels.

Sources in Nadra said that the courier companies had to purchase the software for Rs20,000 and pay Rs5,000 monthly fee and Rs20 for each verification.

“If the government is serious in stopping narcotics smuggling through courier services, it should provide the identity card verification software free of cost,” said an official of a national courier company.

“We agree with the ANF and Nadra that there should be a system. But it will be expensive for both the companies and the customers,” he maintained.

Nadra spokesman Kiramatullah Durrani said the authority had provided the software to passport offices and airports throughout the country. He did not say whether the departments paid for the service.