Customs makes ‘biggest’ haul of chemicals used in IEDs, drugs

Acetic anhydride was discovered in a 20-foot container on January 9,

months after it had arrived at Port Qasim from Tanzania

Karachi 

The Pakistan Customs has seized 21.7 metric tons of acetic anhydride used for making improvised explosive devices, a statement said on Tuesday.

The chemical compound was discovered in a 20-foot container on January 9, months after it had arrived at Port Qasim from Tanzania. 

The container was declared to contain “acetic acid glacial”, but the Port Control Unit of the Model Custom Collectorate, upon receipt of credible information, profiled and searched it. The container, imported from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in November 2015 was later shifted to the NLC Container Terminal on Mai Kolachi Road, Karachi.

The statement said the consignment was primarily suspected in view of the fact that traditionally Tanzania was not a producer of acetic acid. The consignee of the shipment was said to be in Sialkot.

This is by far the biggest quantity of acetic anhydride sized anywhere in the world, including Pakistan.

Acetic anhydride is used as the major precursor for the production of heroin and is also one of the major chemicals used in the manufacturing of IEDs. 

It was, however, yet to be determined what the actual purpose “of this sinister attempt” was, said the statement. The value of the seized chemicals is more than Rs860 million.

The Pakistan Customs is a major participant in “UNODC-WCO Container Control Programme” and also a key partner of World Customs Organisation’s “Programme Global Shield”. 

The expertise and skills of trained officers have led to this record seizure which would in turn not only save the world from the menace of narcotics but also save Pakistan from the threat of improvised explosive devices, said the statement.