KARACHI: The Customs authorities have decided to initiate another crackdown on the smugglers of diesel and other contraband items.
The reliable sources informed Customs Today that the Chief Collector Enforcement-South Muhammad Nazim Saleem has asked the authorities concerned to evolve a strategy in order to bust the smuggling cartels existing in the south region.
“In first phase, the authorities concerned including the Preventive Collectorate, MCC Gwadar, MCC Quetta and MCC Hyderabad would evolve a mechanism in order to initiate crackdown against the smuggling cartels and would brief the Chief Collector Enforcement-South in this regard”, sources added.
They further said that the higher authorities of Federal Board of Revenue-FBR have asked the Chief Collector Enforcement-South to continue their efforts to uproot the smuggling of diesel and other contraband items.
“The Chief Collector Enforcement-South after getting the reports and proposals from different Collectorates will finalize the line of action against the smugglers”, sources added.
The sources further informed that all respective Collectorates have started their working in order to evolve an anti-smuggling strategy against the smugglers and will soon submit it before the Chief Collector Enforcement-South. The sources further disclosed that the crackdown against the smugglers would be initiated by the end of this current month (March).
It is pertinent to mention here that the Enforcement Region had already conducted a grand operation against the smugglers of Iranian petrol and diesel last year, in which the authorities dismantled more than 50 illegal petrol/diesel pumps in the jurisdiction of Karachi. However; the Customs authorities have not yet succeeded to discontinue the supply chain of oil.
