2 Bags Of Heroin Intercepted At KIA

Two unaccompanied bags containing 34 kilogrammes of heroin, valued at $1.5 million, have been intercepted at the Kotoka International Airport in Accra.

The bags were dispatched from Thailand. A source at the Narcotics Control Board, which disclosed this in an interview, said the first bag arrived in the country on April 16, 2004. It said the second bag arrived on May 6, this year, and that both bags were kept in the custody of the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS), pending a possible claim by the owners.

It said when no one came forward to claim the bags, it was decided that they should be opened in the presence of all the security personnel. The source said when the bags were opened, one was found to contain 16.9 kilogrammes of heroin, while the other contained 17.5 kilogrammes. It declined to name the addresses to facilitate further investigations. It explained that the owners might have abandoned the bags on realising that security had been beefed up at the airport.