FAISALABAD: The Customs Anti-Smuggling Organization (ASO) seized non-customs paid cigarettes worth Rs3,97,845 involving customs duty and taxes Rs 2,68,158 from a goods transport outlet.
Sources told Customs Today, that ASO Superintendent Choudhary Muhammad Sardar alongwith his team raided near Al-Shabaz terminal Sargdha and seized over 133 kilograms of smuggled cigarettes. The cigarettes included Chunghwa (Made in China), Royal Business (Made in London), and other assorted brands were brought into the country illegally.
The sources said that the smuggled cigarettes were to be supplied to Sargodha from Rawalpindi through bus bearing registration no, 9365. The customs authorities have shifted the cigarettes to the state warehouse of Customs House at Faisalabad.
The smuggled items seizes under section 2(S), read with SRO 566(1),2005 section 16, 18, of the customs act 1969 read with section 3(1)3 of the import and export control act, 1950 punishable under section 156(1)89 of the customs act 1969.
The ASO team that seized the illegally imported cigarettes was consisting Inspector Ansar Saleemi, Bashir Ahmed, Amir Ali, sepoys Muhammad Ashraf, Muhammad Amin, Muhammad Iqbal, Muhammad Mansha and others participated in raid action. Customs authorities after registering a case have started further investigations to reach the culprits.