PESHAWAR: Directorate of Transit Trade and Collectorate of Customs Appraisement Peshawar has busted an inter-provincial cartel involved in large-scale mis-declaration and unauthorized removal of duty-free goods from the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) Risalpur, officials said.
The operation was led by Director General Transit Trade Irfan Javed, whose team included Director Rashid Munir, Additional Director Ghulam Haider Mahesar, Principal Appraiser Amjad Iqbal and Appraising Officer Ashfaq ur Rehman.
Chief Collector Appraisement Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Waheed Marwat, along with Collector Ziaullah Shams and Additional Collector Saiqa Abbas, conducted the audit of the consignment that led to the detection of the case.
According to an FIR (No. 23 of 2026) lodged by Inspector Customs Junaid Khalid of the Collectorate of Customs (Appraisement), Peshawar, the action followed credible information about suspected misuse of duty-free import facilities and unauthorized removal of imported goods by M/s Shippo Pakistan (Pvt.) Ltd, located at Plot No. B-10, Sector B, EPZ Risalpur, Nowshera.
A team was constituted on November 3, 2026, to carry out physical stock-taking and reconciliation of import/export GDs, stock registers, reported consumption and physical inventory for the period from July 2021 to November 5, 2026.
Sources said the stock-checking was completed within two days on the directives of Chief Collector Waheed Marwat, as there was information that the goods might be removed.
They added that around 200 containers are believed to have been cleared through mis-declaration over the last two years, with high-value goods cleared fraudulently, and that senior Customs officers allegedly acted as facilitators.
A BS-20 officer posted in OPS is said to be involved in the scam, sources added. The accused company, Shippoo, is also reportedly operating under another name, “Blooming,” and carrying out the same practices, they said.
The FIR states that scrutiny revealed that against 9,600 imported 32-inch glass boards, 1,040 were shown as exported and only 4,050 were physically found, leaving 4,510 pieces unexplained, with estimated duties and taxes of Rs 30,580,142.
Excess physical quantities were also recorded for 40-, 43- and 50-inch boards (1,158, 435 and 288 pieces respectively) and back plates (3,440 pieces), requiring examination of the accuracy of inward and outward records.
Against 150,680 kg of imported SKD hard-type suitcases, only 16,344 kg were physically found, resulting in an apparent shortage of 134,336 kg. Against 8,375 imported school and travel bags, only 492 pieces were found, leaving 7,883 pieces unexplained.
A reported shortfall of 1,412 finished suitcase pieces, estimated at Rs 13,274,457, remains subject to verification of cartons, sets and pieces. The total provisional bag-category revenue impact is Rs 70.41 million.
Furthermore, 971,967 kg of fabric was imported, 740,176 kg was shown as consumed, 165,271 kg was separately recorded as wastage, and about 40,000 kg was physically found, leaving a provisional difference of 26,520 kg and an accumulative revenue loss of about Rs 9.2 million.
The artificial-flower/gypseum reconciliation records 2,085,432 kg of selected imports, 2,012,209 kg of relevant exports and 68,000 kg of physical stock, yielding an indicative difference of 5,223 kg and evasion of Rs 6.9 million.
The inspecting team further observed that sufficient machinery, dedicated labour and contemporaneous production records were not available to substantiate certain claimed manufacturing activities.
The substantial shortages, along with the absence of corresponding exports or lawful disposal records, provide prima facie grounds to investigate unauthorized removal or diversion of EPZ goods into the tariff area.
The total value of duty and taxes on the offending goods is approximately Rs 117.09 million.
The complainant is Inspector Junaid Khalid, while the accused include M/s Shippo Pakistan (Pvt.) Ltd (NTN-5240322), EPZ Risalpur, Nowshera; its office at T-27/D, 2nd Floor, Hakim Sons Building, 19-West Wharf Road, Karachi; the Zonal Manager, EPZ Risalpur, Nowshera; the Chief Security Officer, EPZ Risalpur, Nowshera; and others including its directors, owners and employees. The information was received through code XYZ, c/o the Chief Collector Customs Appraisement (North), Custom House, Peshawar.
