Fleeing customs official obtains pre-arrest bail in smuggling case

A court has granted interim pre-arrest bail to an absconding official of the Pakistan Customs in a case pertaining to an alleged mega smuggling scam.

Three former collectors enforcement – Usman Bajwa, Saqif Saeed and Amir Thaheem – along with Customs’ Anti-Smuggling Organisation (ASO) superintendents Tariq Mehmood and Yawar Abbas, Preventive Officer Muhammad Tayyab Khan and others, have been booked by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for allegedly receiving huge bribes for facilitating transportation of betel nuts, Iranian oil and other smuggled goods through land routes of Karachi and Balochistan.

Saqif, who had been declared an absconder in an interim charge sheet, appeared before the Customs, Taxation and Anti-Smuggling Court judge and moved an application seeking interim pre-arrest bail. The judge granted bail to the accused subject to the submission of a Rs500,000 surety with a direction to join the investigation.

He, however, reserved his order on a post-arrest bail application of accused Tariq Mehmood after hearing arguments from the defence and prosecution sides and is expected to announce the same on September 5.

Meanwhile, the court directed the investigating officer to file the final chargea sheet in the case by the next date of the hearing set for September 12. According to the IO, Ummara Qureshi, customs officials posted at customs check posts at Mochko, Hamdard Chowk, Super Highway, National Highway/Ghaghar Phatak and other areas would allegedly collect monthly bribes/illegal gratification under the guise of ‘speed money’ to allow the smuggling of betel nuts, Iranian diesel and other items by smugglers, including Aslam, Shah Khalid, Ghulab Shah, Noor, Nazar, Akbar Baloch, Raheem, Ali Zehr, Ghous, Waheed Kakar, Khuda Dost, Khuda-e-Nazar, Bakhtayar, Raheem, Ismail, Noor Ahmed, Qasim, Saeed, Naseer, Salar.

She said the suspect, Mehmood, had disclosed that huge payments of bribe/speed money were given to other customs officers in the shape of gold bars. She added that this was corroborated with the receipts seized from a jewel shop proprietor in Clifton.