Suspected heroin smuggler swallowed pellets before arrest at Calgary airport, police say

Border officers at the airport in Calgary seized roughly13,500 single doses of heroin from a woman who had swallowed pellets and was hiding more of the drug in her luggage, officials say.

The woman, a foreign national, arrived in Calgary on Nov. 22 and was stopped for a search by members of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), said a news release on Wednesday.

CBSA officers determined the woman had ingested numerous pellets and had concealed additionalheroin in her suitcase, totalling about 1,350 grams.

The RCMP's Federal Serious and Organized Crime Team took over theinvestigation and charged Mariam Salehe, 38, with importation of a controlled substance and possession for the purpose of trafficking.

She was taken into custody and will appear in provincial court on Friday.

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