PESHAWAR: Collectorate of Customs staff deputed at Bacha Khan International Airport (BKIA) seized foreign currency worth Rs5.2 million and arrested two passengers.
Sources told Customs Today that Assistant Collector Muhammad Asif received credible information that some smugglers will try to smuggle foreign origin currency. He alerted customs staff to enhance checking of passengers. The Customs team intercepted two passengers who were later identified as Ahmad Laiq and Muhammad Rehman.
During the search, the customs team recovered 38000 Saudi Riyals from one passenger and 35000 Saudi Riyals from another passenger. The first passenger did not declare the currency at the Customs Currency Declaration Counter (CDC) on the prescribed form. Later upon body search in AC customs office, Saudi Riyals 37000 and UAE Dirhams 20000 were also recovered from his possession.
He said that both the passengers were arrested and FIR lodged against them. Total amount recovered from first passenger is equal to Saudi Riyals 75000 and UAE Dirhams 20000 amounting to $25447 and amount recovered from the second passenger is equal to Saudi Riyals 35000 amounting to $9334/-. These passengers were going to Dubai through PK-283.
Assistant Collector said that Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has ordered BKIA to tight the vigilance at airports to curb the currency smuggling. He informed ‘as we know Pakistan’s name could be added in gray list of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) so we have geared up crackdown against the currency smugglers to removing country’s name from gray list’.
