Customs official granted post-arrest bail in smuggling case

A special court has granted post-arrest bail to a customs official in a case pertaining to a mega smuggling scam.

In July, the Federal Investigation Agency had arrested Tariq Mehmood and Yawar Abbas, superintendents of the customs’ Anti-Smuggling Organisation, at the Karachi airport when they were about to board a flight to Islamabad.

They, along with three former collectors enforcement – Usman Bajwa, Saqif Saeed and Amir Thaheem – and Preventive Officer Muhammad Tayyab, were later booked for allegedly receiving huge bribes for facilitating transportation of betel nuts, Iranian oil and other smuggled goods through land routes of Karachi and Balochistan.

Tariq Mehmood had moved an application before the Customs, Taxation and Anti-Smuggling Court judge, seeking post-arrest bail in the case. The judge announced his order earlier reserved after hearing arguments from both prosecution and defence sides.

He granted post-arrest bail to the accused against a surety of Rs2 million. According to the prosecution, an FIA team had conducted a raid in the domestic lounge of the Jinnah International Airport on July 13 and arrested Mehmood and Abbas, who were travelling to Islamabad on a two-day personal visit.

It stated that during a search of the official vehicle of the suspects parked in the airport’s parking lot, Rs5.43 million, $2,406 and 6,100 UAE dirhams were found and the officials failed to give any plausible reply and voluntarily admitted that the amount was “speed money”, which was collected by them from the customs check post in Mochko, District Keamari, to distribute it among various customs officials through some collectors, additional collectors, deputy collectors, superintendents and other officials.