Czech model weeps after she is sentenced to 8 years in Pakistan for trying to smuggle heroin worth $1.3 million

A Czech model was seen breaking down in tears on March 20 as she was being sentenced to eight years in prison in Pakistan after she tried to smuggle a little more than $1.3 million worth of heroin into Ireland. 22-year-old Czech model Tereza Hluskova cried as she was given her sentence in the city of Lahore. The court said that the model was arrested in possession of 19lbs (8.5kgs) of heroin in January last year at the Lahore airport.

The court said that from there, she was supposed to go to Ireland through Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. The Daily Mail reported that since she was arrested, Hluskova told the investigators that she went to Pakistan to work as a model but that someone put the large amount of narcotics into her luggage.

Sardar Asghar Dogar, her lawyer, says that she will appeal the decision. Hluskova was convicted during a court appearance she made last week. Her sentence also reportedly includes an $800 fine. Previous reports stated that she was stopped with the small cargo of the Class A drug in her luggage.

The story gained prominence when Hluskova was caught smiling and posing for photos with Pakistani investigators immediately after she was arrested at the airport. She told the authorities that she was in the country for a modeling contract and told the authorities that she did not know how the drugs ended up in her suitcase. 

Two other men were also said to be arrested and are due to face drug trafficking charges after the authorities went through Hluskova's phone. In a video that was released online, a Pakistani customs official can be seen "discovering" the drugs that were hidden in the suitcase while Hluskova looks on.

Pictures showed that the model broke down in court after hearing the verdict of her case. https://t.co/O40C4fmNDz

— Pakistan Today (@ePakistanToday) March 20, 2019

She is then seen putting her head in her hands. She can be heard saying in the video: "They gave me something for luggage, three statues or something. They said it was gifts. I didn't know there was something inside."

In an incident connected to the model, a man was jailed for three years in November last year after he threatened terrorist attacks on the country if Hluskova was not released. 21-year-old Nikolai Simeonov Ivanov from Bulgaria sent threatening emails and text messages to a news website in the country. A court heard later that Ivanov admitted he didn't realize the consequences of sending the threats.