Customs seizes smuggled cigarettes, gutka worth Rs37.9m

The Anti-Smuggling Organisation (ASO) of the customs on Tuesday claimed seizing smuggled foreign brand cigarettes and gutka worth millions of rupees.

In line with the Government of Pakistan’s zero-tolerance policy against smuggling, the Enforcement Collectorate Karachi is continuing its anti-smuggling operations.

According to the customs spokesperson, an ASO team, acting on intelligence received from a sensitive agency, conducted a raid at Al-Asif Square, Sohrab Goth, with the assistance of Sachal Rangers. The joint raid was led by Deputy Collector Customs ASO Syed Muhammad Raza Naqvi, targeting various warehouses located in shops of Al-Asif Square. During the raid, the team seized 7,000 boxes (70,000 packs) of smuggled foreign-brand cigarettes, 4,850 packets of Indian-made hazardous gutka (chewing tobacco) and 1,145 packets of naswar (powdered tobacco). The estimated value of the seized goods is Rs37.90 million. The spokesperson said the confiscated items were loaded onto three Mazda trucks and transported to the ASO warehouse for further legal proceedings.