Customs seizes Rs100 million smuggled cloth in Lahore raid

LAHORE: Personnel of the Pakistan Customs Collectorate Preventive have claimed seizing a huge quantity of smuggled cloth during a raid at a godown in Lahore.

Irfan Ali, a customs spokesman, said on Thursday that in pursuance of the policy lines given by FBR Chairman Shabbar Zaidi and directives of Customs (Operations) member Jawwad Owais Agha, the Model Customs Collectorate Preventive, Lahore, had intensified information-based operations against the transportation and trade of smuggled goods in the territorial jurisdiction of the Collectorate.

He added that acting upon one such tip-off that a huge quantity of smuggled high quality fabrics had been brought into the city and stored in a private place located in the area of Delhi Gate, the collector MCC (Preventive) constituted a team under the deputy collector, anti-smuggling, to conduct a raid.

The team accordingly raided the place and seized the imported cloth weighing 60 tons. The owner failed to produce any import documents in respect of the recovered cloth; therefore, the same was seized under the relevant provisions of the law. The value of the seized cloth is approximately Rs100 million. Further investigations are underway.