LAHORE: Customs officials have confiscated about 4,695 alcohol bottles from passengers travelling by different flights during hundreds of raids on the Allama Iqbal International Airport from July 2016 to 30th of June 2017.
Sources told Customs Today that the officers conducted operations in different flights coming from Dubai to Lahore, Turkey to Lahore, Jeddah to Lahore and Muscat to Lahore, Colombo to Lahore, Tashkent to Lahore and hundreds of other flights.
During different actions in the flights, customs staff recovered huge quantity of alcohol which is a common practice at Lahore airport. Customs officials have recovered 4,695 bottles of alcohol that was of Rs3.4million in Pakistani market. The customs allowed most of the passengers to go after seizure of alcohol bottles from their possession.
Customs has also impounded 270 LEDs of different sizes from 32 inches to 60 inches from more than 200 passengers. The value of the recovered LEDs is more than Rs14million in Pakistani market. Most of the electronic items were recovered from passengers coming from Saudi Arabia to Lahore and Dubai to Lahore. The customs airport has also seized gold in different actions. From July 2016 to 2017, the customs airport recovered gold of Rs36million in six different actions. The customs has also registered cases against all the accused. Legal proceedings are underway in the customs court against accused.
Six wireless sets and hundreds kilograms of mobile accessories were also recovered from Lahore airport. The security officers have launched an investigation into the matter.
The customs has impounded all the recovered alcohol bottles and started investigation.
It is a common practice that passengers, coming from European countries, carry bottles of alcohol with them but many times they leave them on the premises of airport to avoid arrest.