Two in court after huge Manchester Airport drugs seizures
Heroin and cocaine with an estimated street value of over £2.3million has been seized by Border Force at Manchester Airport
Officers believe the seizure of 35 kilos of heroin - found in a chapatti making machine - is the largest single detection of class A drugs at the airport.
The seizure, with an estimated street value of £1.6million, was made on 7 June when officers searched a chapatti making machine belonging to a passenger aboard a flight from Pakistan and found the heroin.
Muhammad Khalid, a 43-year-old British man from Birmingham was charged with importation of a Class A drug, namely heroin. He appeared at Trafford Magistrates’ Court on Monday 10 June where he was remanded in custody to appear at Manchester Crown Court (Minshull Street) on 1 July.
Drug seizure
The previous day (6 June) officers discovered approximately 15 kilos of cocaine, which has an estimated street value of just under £700,000, after they searched a bag belonging to a passenger arriving from the Dominican Republic.
Dutch national, Hendrikus Marius Van-Achthoven, 49, from Holland was charged with importation of a Class A drug, namely cocaine. He appeared at Trafford Magistrates’ Court on Friday 7 June where he was remanded in custody to appear at Manchester Crown Court (Minshull Street) on 28 June.
Sam Bullimore, Border Force Assistant Director at Manchester Airport, said:
These significant seizures have ensured that a sizeable amount of drugs have been kept off our streets. We believe the heroin find is the biggest-ever single seizure of its kind at Manchester.
We will continue to work to keep our border secure and to make life as tough as possible for those who seek to profit from this evil trade.
Border Force
Border Force officers use hi-tech search equipment to combat immigration crime and detect banned and restricted goods that smugglers attempt to bring into the country.
They use an array of search techniques including sniffer dogs, carbon dioxide detectors, heartbeat monitors and scanners - as well as visual searches - to find well-hidden stowaways, illegal drugs, firearms and cigarettes which would otherwise end up causing harm to local people, businesses and communities.
Anyone with information about suspected smuggling should contact our hotline on 0800 59 5000.