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2 charged after heroin seized from women’s high heels at Hamilton airport: CBSA

The CBSA says it has seized 800 grams of heroin concealed within five high heels in a shipment that arrived at a Hamilton airport. Canada Border Services Agency

Editor’s note: The charges against Nancy Mintah were stayed in January 2018. 

Two Toronto residents are facing charges after heroin was found hidden in women’s high heels imported from Pakistan to a Hamilton airport.

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and Royal Canadian Mounted Police announced on Thursday that they had made two arrests.

READ MORE: Women surpass men as largest smugglers of cocaine at Canada’s airports: CBSA

On July 18, border services officers conducted a routine exam on a package at the cargo facility at John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport.

The package, imported from Pakistan, included various clothing items and five pairs of women’s high heel shoes. A smell from the package and modifications made to shoes had tipped officers off to investigate further.

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An X-ray scan showed unusual rectangular objects that varied in size and were shaped to represent the shoe’s soles. When officers broke apart the shoes, they discovered clear, wrapped bags containing a substance that later tested positive for heroin.

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In total, CBSA officers seized almost 800 grams of heroin that was concealed in the five pairs of shoes.

READ MORE: 7kg of cocaine found hidden under plane’s food trolleys at Toronto airport: CBSA

The RCMP has charged Evans Okwara, 34, and Nancy Mintah, 25, both of Toronto, with importing a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking and conspiracy.

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Officials are commending the CBSA and RCMP for collaboratively working together to keep communities safe.

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