Customs seizes smuggled liquor

Personnel of the Pakistan Customs seized a huge quantity of foreign liqour worth millions of rupees during a raid on the outskirts of the city on Thursday.

Customs spokesman Irfan Ali said that after the Customs Enforcement Collectorate received information that liquor was being smuggled into Karachi from Balochistan under the cover of official vehicles, vigilance was mounted at the Moachko check post.

When a vehicle with a government number plate and an armed guard was spotted at the check post, customs anti-smuggling staff motioned for its driver to pull up, but the driver sped away, instead.

When the officials gave a chase, the driver of the vehicle deliberately started hitting customs mobiles and the guard resorted to firing. The customs staffers restrained from opening fire as the road was crowded and there was threat to public safety.

Spokesman Ali said that when they were near Shershah Chowk, the driver and the guard jumped off the vehicle and ran away, taking the benefit of a traffic jam on

the other side of the road. Upon a search of the vehicle, 348 liquor bottles valued

at Rs6,480,000 were seized among other goods found in the vehicle. The total value of the goods and the vehicle was estimated to be Rs10,480,000. An FIR has been lodged and

a hunt launched to trace the suspects.