Man jailed for smuggling £3.9m worth of heroin

A British man has been jailed for 12 years for attempting to smuggle  £3.9 million of heroin through Manchester Airport,

A joint operation by the National Crime Agency and Border Force it was one of the largest single amounts caught coming through.

Muhammad Khalid, 43, from Birmingham was caught with 24 kilos of the Class A drug on June 7 this year.

Sam Bullimore, Assistant Director for Border Force, said: “This is one of the biggest-ever seizure of drugs at Manchester Airport and a huge amount of heroin has been kept off the streets as a result.

“I would like to praise the efforts of my officers and reassure people that we will continue to work to keep our border safe and make life as tough as possible for people who seek to profit from this evil trade.”

Khalid flew from Islamabad in Pakistan with a large cardboard box containing an oven. He was challenged over a brown substance lining the oven which turned out to be Heroin after forensic testing.

He was sentenced to 12 years in prison at a Manchester Court today

Peter Avery, from the National Crime Agency’s Border Policing Command, said: “Through our close working with Border Force colleagues we have managed to put a serious drug smuggler behind bars and protected our communities by keeping a substantial quantity of drugs off the streets.

“This conviction should serve as a warning to others involved in drug smuggling - the NCA will find you and put you before the courts.”