HYDERABAD: Customs (Enforcement) South Chief Collector Muhammad Zahid Khokhar has said the contraband items like gutka, mainpuri, cigarettes and betel nuts worth around Rs 220 million have been seized in raids, carried out in different cities of Sindh.
“Due to persist raids and action against smugglers, the crime of smuggling these contraband items has reduced,” observed Khokhar at a press conference at Custom House here on Saturday.
According to the Collector, a majority of these raids were carried out in Hyderabad, Sukkur, Jacobadad and Larkana districts. He said that the recovered items include around Rs 120 million worth of gutka, 239kg hashish worth Rs 550 million and cigarettes worth Rs 45 million.
Khokhar said that the contraband items worth Rs 7 billion were seized in 2015. “Our staff has sacrificed their lives to prevent the smuggling,” he observed.
The collector pointed out that the country’s porous border with Afghanistan posed a challenge for the Customs to prevent smuggling.
Additional Collector Umar Shafiq, Deputy Collector Rehmatullah Vistro, Deputy Collector Nafees Ahmed and other officials were also present on the occasion.
