KARACHI: Customs Collectorate of Preventive foiled bids to smuggle goods worth millions of rupees as the suspects misused tax and duty exemptions available to diplomats and privileged personalities.
Addressing a press conference, Collector Customs Preventive Dr Iftikhar Ahmed said that 15,130 mobile phones and tablets; 8,296 auto parts and headlights; 300 refrigeration gas cylinders; 37 cartons of refrigeration coils as well as 45 buckets of Jotun Paint worth Rs 59,017,661 were also recovered with duty and taxes involved Rs 30,008,591.
He said that information was received that a gang of smugglers is involved in smuggling of goods by misusing the exemption facility available to the diplomats and privileged persons.
On the directives of the Chief Collector of Customs (Enforcement-South), Karachi, he immediately constituted a team under the supervision of ADC and DC Ant-Smuggling Organization (ASO) to thwart such attempts. The team after strict vigilance intercepted a container bearing no:WHLU-5685618 near Chamra Chowrangi, Korangi Industrial Area.
On spot checking and questioning confirmed the information that a substantial quantity of mobile phones and other goods of high value were brought into the country without payment of leviable duty & taxes under the garb of a diplomatic / privileged person’s consignment.
The said container along with driver and conductor as well as one suspected person were escorted to ASO (HO), NMB Wharf, Karachi for further investigation / stock-taking and recovery of other goods removed from the said container and dispatched to different areas of the city.
On information of the accused persons the Anti Smuggling Organization (ASO) team raided residential commercial places with successful seized remaining goods along with a Mazda truck bearing Registration No. AHO025 loaded with smuggled mobile phones.
The smuggled goods were cleared vide GD No. KAPE-PP-110750 dated 21.12.2017 from Model Custom Collectorate (MCC) Appraisement East Karachi filed in the name of a Privileged Person with declared description as “Household goods personal effects.
