KARACHI: Directorate General of Transit Trade (DGTT) Director General Sarfraz Wrriach detected replacement of high tariff goods with low value goods of consignment en-route to Afghanistan.
According to sources, the Directorates of Quetta and Peshawar were advised by the Director General Sarfaraz Warraich to tighten vigilance at Customs Station Chaman and Torkham to countering the pilferage attempt.
Collector MCC Preventive Karachi Saquib Saeed and Deputy Collector ASO Akbar Jan also received credible information that a bid will be made to pilfer the transit cargo en-route by the way of replacing the fabric imported in transit with some inferior quality cloth, which was duly passed to Director General Transit Trade Sarfaraz Warraich.
After receiving insructions, the staff of transit trade, Chaman exercised strict vigilance in examination of the textile fabric cloth brought under the transit trade agreement and Customs Rules 2001.
During three days the Transit trade Chaman office examined almost 30 containers of the transit goods containing fabrics at the Pakistan Railway Yard, Chaman. During this combing exercise of examination of each and every container of fabric, the staff of the Directorate detected a container loaded with bales which were different in packing as compare to the packing in which fabrics are usually packed.
The whole container was emptied and examined, and it was found that there were 332 Bales of old and used clothing instead of 477 Bales of “Polyester gents suiting fabric, in bales of assorted colour and design” as declared in G.D.
The consignment was loaded at Karachi Port (KICT) and was exited after affixing PCCSS seal along with customs seal, which was entrusted to M/s E-Movers (Pvt) Ltd, Karachi for safe delivery at the destination for Afghanistan.
It is established that the clearing agent, Afghan importer after clearance from Karachi Port (KICT) in connivance with the Bonded Carrier M/s E-Movers have mis-appropriated the original consignment of Polyester gents suiting fabric, in bales of assorted color and design and replaced the same with recovered goods i.e old & used clothing enroute.
SM/s TPL Tracker Ltd which are responsible for tracking and monitoring of the transit cargo failed to generate any alert regarding opening of the door and replacement of the transit cargo. It is pertinent to mention here that the system showed the consignment had crossed the border, but it never crossed the border and was replaced in Quetta.
The goods have been seized and investigations are underway.
