The Pakistani High Commission on Wednesday was trying to establish the correctness of reports that South Africans were among 14 people arrested in Lahore on drug-smuggling charges.
Head of Chancery, Shah Muhammad, said the commission in Pretoria had not been informed of the arrests but would make contact with the relevant authorities in Pakistan on Wednesday to find out what the situation was.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday it was also trying to establish the authenticity of the reports and was conducting its own investigation.
According to French news agency AFP, Pakistani authorities on Tuesday said they had busted an international drug-smuggling ring headed by an airport customs official.
A senior Pakistani official said 14 Pakistani, South African, Nigerian and Sierra Leone nationals were arrested last week in Lahore after anti-narcotics squads discovered 14kg of heroin.
”We have arrested 14 foreign and local drug smugglers and recovered from them heroin worth millions of dollars,” Anti-Narcotics Force director Brigadier Ashfaq Ahmed told a news conference.
Iftikhar Azeem, head of the customs department’s drug cell at Lahore airport, is alleged to have run the gang and helped other members board international flights carrying stashes of heroin, Ahmed said.
Gang members were allegedly also caught with 24kg of hashish and 1 200kg of opium, AFP reported.
Drug trafficking carries the death penalty in Pakistan. — Sapa