ISLAMABAD: The Customs ASO Islamabad took into possession 7,000 kilogram of foreign origin apple along with an offending vehicle priced at millions of rupees from Rawalpindi and auctioned it off because of its perishable status.
According to details given by Assistant Collector Majid Hussain Gadd that, on a tip-off forwarded by Zulfikar Ali Chaudhry, Collector Model Customs Collectorate (MCC) Islamabad, the ASO intercepted a Hino truck coming from Azad Jummu Kashmir (AJK) loaded with a huge quantity of smuggling apples.
The ASO asked the possessors of the loader to show the documents as legal proof of the loaded apples but they failed to prove anything legal. The possessors told the ASO staff that they do illegal business of fruit in Indian held Kashmir.
In response to the arguments of the possessors of smuggling apples, the ASO staff told them to pay duty and taxes before crossing the border. He added that the possessors were unable to provide Goods Declaration (GD), so the ASO staff impounded the apples along with an offending vehicle bearing registration No: SGE-3900.
He said that the item was brought to the state warehouse and the apples were auctioned off against Rs0.8million. The impounded offending truck will be auctioned after the completion of other departmental formalities. The value of the loader was appraised Rs2.00million while an FIR has been lodged against the tax evaders. The ASO staffers, taking part in the said operation, comprised Superintendent Sohail Kureishi and Abid Hussain Malak, Inspector Muhammad Hafeez and other customs staff of Class-V.
