PMSA catches seven smugglers with liquor worth Rs400m

Personnel of the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) seized illegal liquor worth Rs400 million during an open sea raid.

The raid was carried out on intelligence-based credible information that sea routes would be used for smuggling a large quantity of illegal liquor. DG PMSA Rear Admiral Zaka Ur Rehman told a press conference at the agency’s headquarters that acting on this piece of information, the agency deployed its ships, aircraft and fast response boats on all sea routes.

During Tuesday night, a PMSA ship chased suspicious boats near the Makran Coast and seized illegal liquor worth of Rs400 million. During a search on a boat, more than 65,000 high quality liquor bottles and beer cans were seized and seven smugglers arrested.

The operation was conducted with the cooperation of the Pakistan Customs (Preventive). The liquor and the smugglers are being handed over to the Pakistan Customs (Preventive) for further legal proceedings.

The illegal liquor contains more than 50 international brands of whisky, wine, jin and beer. This liquor seizure was said to be the biggest in the history of the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency.

This successful anti-smuggling operation by proves that the PMSA and the Pakistan Customs are fully active in their area of responsibility and capable of stopping all kinds of illegal activities in their domain. On this occasion, Customs Collector (Preventive) Dr Farid Iqbal Qureshi and other PMSA officials were also present at the occasion.