Customs seizes 70 tonnes of smuggled fabric in Saddar raid

Personnel of the Pakistan Customs Enforcement on Thursday seized 70 tonnes of smuggled foreign fabric worth Rs150 million.

Syed Irfan Ali, a spokesman for the Customs, said that in line with the government of Pakistan’s policy against smuggled goods and in pursuance of credible information received by the Collectorate of Customs Enforcement, Karachi, a team conducted a joint intelligence- based operation with the Sindh Rangers in the early hours of May 23 at the Central Plaza, Saddar, More than 70 tonnes of assorted foreign origin parachute fabric was recovered from the site that had been smuggled into the country in a clandestine manner whilst evading payment of duties and taxes.

The same was loaded onto 15 trucks and shifted to the Collectorate’s warehouse for a detailed examination and further legal proceedings. The market value of the recovered quantity is approximately Rs150 million and the evaded duties and taxes are estimated to be more than Rs60 million.

Earlier, with the directions of Basit Maqsood Abbasi, Collector of Customs Enforcement, Karachi, to curb the menace of smuggling, the additional collector of customs directed Syed Muhammad Raza Naqvi, deputy collector of customs, Anti-Smuggling Organisation, to keep extra vigilance on the movement of illicit and contraband medicines coming to Karachi.

In pursuance of credible information that a huge quantity of foreign-origin/smuggled medicine of Indian-origin and other high-end medicines of US origin, was lying at a godown in the vicinity of Altaf Hussain Road, Karachi.

The ASO staff raided the godown located at Office 1st and 3rd Floor, Fakhruddin Manzil, and upon a detailed examination and measurement, smuggled foreign-origin and contraband medicines including Viagra (USA), Cialis (KSA), Centrum (USA), Bortesam (India), Xeleac (India), Hexaxim (France) were recovered. The smuggled and the contraband assorted medicines were said to be worth Rs250 million.

The abovementioned goods have been seized under Section 168 of the Customs Act, 1969, and a notice under Section 171 has been issued, accordingly. An FIR has also been lodged and one accused Muhammad Adam S/o Abdul Ghaffar has been arrested.