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.
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.
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.
In total, CBSA officers seized almost 800 grams of heroin that was concealed in the five pairs of shoes.
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.
Officials are commending the CBSA and RCMP for collaboratively working together to keep communities safe.