MULTAN: Customs Collectorate has enhanced the monitoring of suspected routes which are used for smuggling of foreign origin vehicles and goods in the region.
These views were expressed by Collector Saud Imran during his exclusive interview with Customs Today. He said that the Multan Customs Anti-Smuggling Organization (ASO) is making all out efforts to curtail smuggling in the region. He said that anti-smuggling vehicle cell has enhanced patrolling and monitoring in its jurisdiction to curb smuggling of non-customs paid vehicles in Punjab.
Collector Saud Imran said that Multan Customs has witnessed that vehicle smuggling was being done through Dera Ghazi Khan routes from Baluchistan province. The Customs Collectorate has blocked the main smuggling routes which supplies non-customs paid vehicles in Punjab by intercepting smuggled vehicles from these routes.
Saud Imran Ahmed said that Multan Customs has adopted effective anti-smuggling strategy to carry out actions against them by deputing staff to detain smuggled goods and vehicles. This new strategy has produced fruitful results after its implementation in the jurisdiction against smuggling.
He told that Customs Collectorate Anti-Smuggling Organization has seized six foreign origin vehicles and various goods of worth Rs16.5 million in the first 15 days of May during their various anti-smuggling operations. These six impounded foreign origin vehicles of worth Rs7.5 million in the first 15 days of May and all these vehicles were impounded due to forge and fake documents.
Collector told that Customs ASO staff has also conducted few raids on a hidden store situated in the residential area of Multan city where dumping of huge quantity of foreign origin smuggled and contraband items was informed.
During strict surveillance in the informed area, the staff successfully detected the supplies of said smuggled goods in smaller quantities packed in polypropylene sacks in a camouflaged manner from the desired store on a motorcycle rikshaw. Upon interception of this suspected consignment the staff on the information of driver of loader rikshaw approached the hidden store where the huge quantity of foreign origin cigarettes, tobacco, gutka, naswar and betal were found dumped.
Collector informed that Customs staff took the said contraband goods into their possession and seized the goods as per provisions of the Customs Act 1969.
He told that Multan Customs has seized 98 smuggled vehicles of Rs146.7 million from July to on-going month of May and seized various foreign origin goods of Rs116.45 million while only 67 vehicles of worth Rs138.4 million and other goods of Rs64.9 million were seized in the corresponding period of the fiscal year 2015-16.
He told that they are facing issues in the eradication of smuggling in the region as smuggler have also local support but we have given this task to honest and skilled staff which will accomplish their task. He told that Multan Customs Collectorate is giving maximum output with their available resources.
He believed that prevention of smuggling is our top priority as it will generate legitimate revenue to Collectorate and also promote trade in the country.
