KARACHI: The Airport Cell of the Karachi Customs is facing threats after it foiled a smuggling bid of rare turtles.
Sources in the Customs Department told Customs Today that a passenger namely Shahid Cheema was travelling from Karachi to Bangkok on night between September 19 and 20 when X-Ray machine detected suspected bags in his luggage. On search by the customs officials, 200 rare turtles were recovered from his luggage. Each recovered turtle had price $100 in the international market. According to the highly-places sources, Shahid Cheema had to travel Bangkok via Doha.
Additional Collector Customs Tahir Qureshi along with Superintendent Customs Riaz Akbar Shah and other staff foiled the smuggling bid and seized the turtles. Meanwhile, they called the Wildlife Department and handed turtles over to them. The officials of the Wildlife Department said that the recovered turtles had great demand in the international market and their hub is Bangkok.
The sources said that the customs officials were threatened of dire consequences at the time when they recovered the turtles and they are still receiving threats. Unidentified people are still hurling threats from different channels, the sources said. But the staff of the Customs Department has shown determination to continue their duties.
Chief Collector Enforcement Nazim Salim has encouraged the staff and lauded their step. The reliable sources said that the recovered turtles would be set free in the sea after necessary formalities.
