Bid to smuggle betel nuts worth Rs2.4m hidden in tiles foiled

The Pakistan Customs Enforcement has foiled a major smuggling attempt as part of its ongoing anti-smuggling campaign, preventing the illegal transportation of hazardous betel nuts into Karachi.

According to a customs spokesperson, the smugglers had cleverly concealed the harmful betel nuts inside molds of tuff tiles in an effort to evade detection.

On Friday, a team from the Anti-Smuggling Organisation (ASO) of the Collectorate of Customs Enforcement Karachi, stationed at the Mochko Check Post on the RCD Highway, intercepted a trailer (registration number TKT 427) arriving from Hub, Balochistan.

Upon inspection, officials discovered 290 bags of hazardous, smuggled betel nuts—weighing 3,000 kilograms (3 tons)—hidden among the tuff tiles.

The seized goods, valued at Rs2.4 million, along with the trailer worth Rs10 million, bring the total value of the confiscated items to Rs12.4 million. Both the contraband and the trailer were transferred to the ASO warehouse.

A case has been registered under the Customs Act, and further legal proceedings are underway.