LAHORE: Collectorate of Customs Lahore Preventive Anti-Smuggling Organization (ASO)’s field forces have been strictly instructed to follow the SOPs in combating and curtailing smuggling activities effectively and efficiently while the collectorate is operating on bringing about revolutionary IT reforms in ASO to digitalize it.
This was stated by Assistant Collector Customs Anti Smuggling Organization (ASO) Asim Awan while talking to Customs Today here the other day.
Assistant Collector Asim Awan said that Collectorate of Customs Lahore is working on a latest anti-smuggling software and Collector Zulfiqar Younis himself is supervising the digital ASO system. The collector has had a number of meetings with Punjab Information Technology Board head (PITB).
“The far-reaching measures being taken at the collectorate level would certainly help modernizing Anti-Smuggling Organization to effectively control the menace and tackle the smugglers who are equipped with the modern and latest weapons, he said, informing that training of ASO staff has also become a major focus of MCC. The staff is being trained on weapon handling and physical strength and in this regard we have planned to send ASO staff in groups to FC Peshawar for training”, Awan said.
He further explained that in order to effectively control smuggling under the limits of the collectorate all the scouts of the anti-smuggling units have been given monthly target besides monitoring of the scouts has also been made stronger through the implementation of latest software.
In answer to a question, he added that this year’s fresh recruitment of spoyes and other staff have been completed and the thing will get even batter and the ASO will be successful in creating deterrence to a great extent at the boarders and roads and operations at the market places are also on.
He said that acting upon the strategies made at the central level country wide Lahore ASO have conducted a number operations which resulted in thumping success in terms of mega seizures of illegally imported vehicles items.
He added that the collectorate has no tolerance for all kinds of corrupt activities and the ASO staff have also been instructed strictly never get involved in such activities.
To a query, he explained that the ASO has its special focus on big roads including motorways and GT Road, big godowns and market places and in this connection special meetings are also being arranged with the relevant authorities of other departments, he said adding, that meetings are also being held to evolve a comprehensive strategy for mutual information exchange between the customs and the other departments.
Awan underscored that earlier, customs, motorways and GT Road authorities have shared lists of number of suspected buses being played for smuggling from Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Gujranwala and Lahore via Motorways and GT Road which yielded good results.
Awan disclosed that Customs field officials have been strictly ordered to follow the strategies and come hard on the smugglers without being influenced by any type of internal or external undue pressure.
Talking about the working of the newly set drug cell he said that to curtail drugs runners’ activities, a Anti-Drug Cell has been set up and the skilled staff have been employed in the cell.
The Cell is operating effectively and taking anti-drug measures, he said, explaining that the drug scout could move freely and trace drug runners across the limits of the collectorate of Customs Preventive Lahore.
