9,000 smuggled bags of dry milk seized by Customs

LAHORE: The Anti-smuggling staff of Customs Collectorate (Preventive) during a raid has recovered smuggled dry milk from a rice mill at Muridke. 

Addressing a press conference at the Lahore Collectorate on Monday, Chief Collector (Central), Sumaira Nazir, along with Collector Customs (Preventive) Zulfiqar Younas, said it was the biggest raid in the history of customs’ anti-smuggling wing. The chief collector said over 9,000 bags (233-metric ton) of dry milk were recovered from Saleem Rice Milk a few days ago. No arrest has so far been made. 

Ms Sumaira said during an initial probe, it had been revealed that each bag was having stamps of “cargo in transit to Afghanistan” which, according to her, indicated that the recovered bags of milk were originally imported for consumption in Afghanistan under the Pak-Afghan Transit Trade and later smuggled back to Pakistan.

The chief collector suspected that the owners of the rice mills/goods were involved in repacking the goods after getting the bags locally printed to change the bags with those carrying stamps of cargo in transit to Afghanistan. Responding to media queries, Collector Customs (Preventive) Lahore Zulfiqar Younas said an estimated amount of the recovered milk is about Rs63 million.

He said a case has been registered, adding an investigation would be conducted to nab all the accused including Customs officials involved in the smuggling case.  To another question, he said no action has so far been taken against any accused Customs officials allegedly involved in clearing smuggled stents supplied by companies to the Mayo Hospital. “So far we have provided what the FIA demanded from us. The stent case is in the Supreme Court and we would follow whatever action the court would suggest,” the collector remarked.