The Collectorate of Customs (Enforcement), Karachi, organised a ceremony on Wednesday for the destruction of smuggled and contraband goods, including narcotics, liquor, gutka, medicines and betel nuts, worth millions of rupees.
Syed Irfan Ali, a spokesman for the customs, said the ceremony commenced at 10am in Nararhar, Gadap Town. Abdul Qadir Memon, chief collector (Enforcement-South), graced the occasion as chief guest.
Foreign dignitaries, representatives of the diplomatic corps, heads of law enforcement agencies, senior government officers and representatives of the business community attended the event.
The proceedings started with the national anthem, followed by the recitation of the Holy Quran. Feroze Alam Junejo, collector of the Customs Enforcement, Karachi, welcomed the guests and gave a brief overview of the event.
This was followed by remarks of the chief guest, who extolled the effort of the organisation in effecting the seizures, and called upon the officers and staff of the Collectorate of Customs Enforcement to rid the society of the narcotics’ menace and remain vigilant to the ever-changing trends of smuggling.
All the distinguished guests were requested to join the chief guest in the ceremony wherein the smuggled and contraband goods were torched and destroyed. The items destroyed were narcotic substances (249kg), including liquor (whisky, wine, beer and cans numbering 16,732 bottles, 742 cans and 38,000 tins respectively), 191,642 Dandas of counterfeit cigarettes, tobacco and Sheesha flavour (755kg and 32 boxes respectively), 39,470 mobile phones, assorted medicine and injections (30,365, 115kg and four bottles), expired food stuff not fit for human consumption (61,924.5kg and 3,271) and miscellaneous goods (expired chemicals, counterfeit and other banned goods).