Model who tried to smuggle €1.17m of heroin into Dublin treated ‘like animal’ in jail

Tereza Hluskova (27) was arrested in January 2018 at Lahore's Allama Iqbal International Airport when 8.5 kilos of heroin were found in her luggage as she was heading to Dublin.

“We were treated like animals, humiliation. I thought they were going to kill me in prison,” Ms Hluskova said.

The Czech woman had been jailed despite claims that someone had placed the drugs in her suitcase without her knowledge. Ms Hluskova prison ordeal was preceded by a stint in Belgium, working as a hooker.

The blonde had dropped out of school in the Czech Republic to work in a café before someone offered her “favourable conditions” as a sex worker in the small European country.

“I was taken under the wing of a woman called Sara. She first wanted to check whether I was suitable for the job.

"She told me to go and have sex with her husband to check if I'm worth it or not. And so, I did what I had to do."

In order to release her from fear, the model turned to drugs and alcohol and adopted the name Jennifer.

“A prostitute doesn't enjoy sex, because in order to survive, she has to switch to robot mode and work.

“I learned to shut down emotions during intimate moments with clients."

Sara plied her with drugs and alcohol.

"I felt almost nothing at all. Maybe the problem was that I drank a lot.

"I had plum juice in one hand, vodka in the other, and in two hours I was lying there, and they had to resuscitate me,” she said.

The former convict shared horrific details of a number of violent encounters, but admitted her memory was scant because she was high on drugs and booze.

Ms Hluskova ended up in a high-class bar, dressed fully in black, where she was introduced to wealthy clients.

"I had a meeting there with a man named Ludo, all I knew was that he had red glasses and a moustache.

"When I reached for the doorknob, I thought I was going to throw up or run away. But I was already in, so I entered."

Her work as an escort turned sour, seeing her endure a terrible beating from a Turkish man who tried to suffocate her after sex.

"I told the guys how he treated me, and then they gave him hell."

She was then told she was being sent to England to do some erotic photo shoots before flying to Pakistan, where she became embroiled in the Dublin heroin-smuggling plot.

Customs officials pounced on her at the airport after finding nearly 9kg of heroin stashed in statues in her suitcase as she was trying to make her way to Ireland.

Video footage shows officers rummaging through her bags while the model cries.

"They gave me something for luggage, three statues or something. They said it was gifts.

"I didn't know there was something inside,” the Czech lady said.

Next came a four-year prison stint, which Ms Hluskova gave an insight into just what that entails in Pakistan.

"I thought they were going to kill me. I admire the person who comes out of prison and is completely fine.

"I still have the experience inside me. Now and then I remember how they woke us up, how the girls beat us and how cold it was there.

"I had no medical help, I had to help myself, I was crying. 'I'll have it in me for the rest of my life.

"You could have had a headache or tuberculosis. The summer was quiet, hot as in a sauna, so I soon sweated out the flu.

"But in winter? I was not warmed by a blanket, nor a sweatshirt, nor hot tea. And on top of that a cold and a cough.

"Sometimes I close my eyes and feel what's there again. How terrible we were.

!I try to shake such thoughts out of my head right away, but sometimes it doesn't go away right away.

"A person who has been in prison for four years has to get used to socialising again," she added.