Gang stealing oil through 174-foot-long tunnel busted

LAHORE: Customs Intelligence has uncovered a groundbreaking case of non-duty-paid POL theft involving illegal extraction of diesel from the PARCO oil pipeline through a specially constructed deep underground pipeline.

This illicit activity, which has been ongoing unchecked for an extended period, is estimated to have caused a daily loss of crores of rupees and billions of rupees over time.

Smugglers clandestinely utilised a 174-foot-long tunnel to extract and steal non-duty-paid diesel. The smugglers ingeniously used this tunnel to illicitly bypass legal and fiscal obligations and steal non-duty-paid diesel.

During the raid, the team seized 65,000 litres of non-duty or stolen diesel valued at Rs20 million, underscoring the scale of the smuggling operation and the substantial daily revenue loss to the government exchequer.

The Directorate of Intelligence and Investigation-Customs, Karachi, conducted this operation based on a tip-off from the Director General of Customs Intelligence, Faiz Ahmad Chaddhar, indicating the involvement of an organised syndicate of smugglers in the theft and sale of non-duty-paid diesel.

An edible oil factory at Port Qasim, previously under the radar of Customs Intelligence, was found intricately involved in the illegal activities. Following the seizure, further investigations led to the arrest of the factory owner, marking a significant stride in unravelling the network behind this sophisticated smuggling operation.