 | Ally Issa Masoud, 46, who agreed to courier drugs into Canada from Africa in exchange for $5,000 has been handed an 11-year prison sentence. He was arrested at Halifax Stanfield International Airport on Feb. 14, 2016, after a secondary examination by border officers revealed almost 4.7 kilograms of heroin hidden in the lining of his suitcase. Masoud pleaded guilty last July to importing heroin and was sentenced Tuesday. Masoud arrived in Halifax on an Air Canada flight from London. While going through customs, he was selected for a secondary examination because his Canadian passport had been flagged due to missed child-support payments. |
 | Border officers X-rayed Masoud’s suitcase and detected a dark orange mass at the bottom of it. An ion scan of the suitcase tested positive for heroin. The plastic bottom of the suitcase was removed, revealing a black, duct-taped insert containing a brown powder that was confirmed to be heroin of about 40 per cent purity. It is believed the heroin probably came from southwest Asia, was cut in Africa and was destined for Montreal, Vancouver or Toronto. |  |
