KARACHI: Customs Collectorate Hyderabad Anti-Smuggling Organization (ASO) recovered a huge quantity of smuggled Iranian diesel and digital cameras during two successful operations.
Sources told Customs Today that Collector Hyderabad Agha Shahid Majeed received secret information that some smugglers are planning to smuggle a huge quantity of Iranian diesel. He conveyed the information to Additional Collector Umer Shafiq. The additional collector constituted an ASO team comprising Inspector Asad Khan Durrani, Aslam Siddiqui and others. The ASO team established various checking points at different locations of Gari Khata area and started checking of vehicles.
The ASO team intercepted an oil tanker and recovered 36,000 liters Iranian diesel. The ASO team asked the driver and his companions to provide legal documents regarding possession and transportation of Iranian diesel but all persons failed to show any documents. After their failure ASO team arrested all the three persons and seized the Iranian diesel. The market value of seized Iranian diesel is Rs 2.1 million.
During another crackdown ASO team intercepted a passenger van which was heading towards Karachi, during checking of passengers, the ASO team recovered 100 digital and 200 handycam, 100 digital cameras. No one claimed the ownership of these cameras after which ASO team seized all these cameras and deposited the same in state warehouse.
Sources said that ASO authorities received information that several illegal petrol pumps are located in Azizabad area after which ASO team raided these petrol pumps and destroyed them immediately. ASO team also seized 12,000 smuggled Iranian diesel.
The market value of seized Iranian diesel is Rs 700,000. The ASO team arrested three persons who were present at the time of raid and registered cases of smuggling against them. Further investigations are still in progress till the filing of this report.