Chief Collector Zeba Hai encouraged whole team for the successful operation
LAHORE: Additional Collector of Customs Tayyaba Kayani has said that Rs 70 million confiscations of illegal cigarettes, gas lighters, Ratana naswar, zafrani tobacco is a team effort and operation against such elements will be conducted even more vigorously in future.
She was talking to Customs Today at her office. She said that every member of her team is a thorough professional and they work with utmost integrity and honesty. She said that the seizure of such huge quantity of tobacco, naswar and other related items followed a due legal procedure.
She said that during the operation, the ASO team including Deputy Collector Moazzam Raza, Superintendent Agha Qadeer, Inspectors Nasir Saeed, Shahid Bhatti and others had to face intense retaliation from the godown owners where the ASO team also received minor injuries.
The Chief Collector of Customs Zeba Hai also guided on the raid and encouraged the whole ASO team for the successful operation. She expects more such mega seizures from the ASO team in future.
The ASO in pursuance of a secret information that a huge quantity of contraband items is clandestinely dumped in a godown situated inside Mochi Gate, Lahore and after completing all legal formalities, the staff of ASO raided the said godown at 1:00pm.
During the raid, on call of the owner of the godown, about 60 to 70 persons reached the spot and created hurdles in the operation which resulted in minor injuries to some officials as well.
The situation was conveyed to the higher authorities and deployment was beefed up in coordination with police. The forces put an end to the violence, completed the operation successfully and seized huge quantity of goods.
The seized drugs included tobacco 145 cartons of Indian Ratna, Arya, Rafique, 9 cartons of Amla bell mixture, 13 bags of Indian naswar, 2 cartons of cigarettes gas lighter, 52 cartons of zafrani tobacco, several cartons of Pan Ras Molasses, 181 cartons of cigarettes brand Milano, Pine, Hi lite, Mond Zen, Marlboro, Dunhill, Benson & Hedges made of USA, UK, Switzerland, Korea, Japan and UAE. The approximate value of the goods is Rs70 million.