Heroin addicts rest at The Edhi rehabilitation centre in Karachi, Pakistan. – AFP Photo

RAWALPINDI: A British national woman along with her two children was arrested at Benazir Bhutto International Airport after recovery of 63.5 kg heroin from her luggage on Sunday.

Sources in the airport said Khadija Shah, 25, and her children were to board a Birmingham-bound PIA flight when they were taken into custody.

A senior officer of the ANF, who requested anonymity, said: “The woman was taken into custody after the big haul of narcotics concealed in 123 plastic packs was recovered from her baggage.”

He added that the plastic packs were concealed in embroidered clothes.

During preliminary investigation, the woman denied that she was aware of the consignment, adding she had been in Pakistan on summer vacations.

According to ANF officials, the woman had stayed in a guesthouse and its bills were paid by someone else. She claimed that her parents and ex-husband were settled in England and she had no relatives in Pakistan.

The ANF said they had started investigation to trace those behind the aborted smuggling bid, as it was not possible for a single woman to carry such a big quantity of heroin without having links either at the airport or outside.