SIALKOT: The Customs Anti-Smuggling Organisation (ASO) in Gujranwala has confiscated smuggled cosmetics and mobile phone accessories during action on the Grand Trunk (GT) Road.
Sialkot ASO in-charge Assistant Collector Fahad Bashir Chaudhary told Customs Today that a team was constituted under the supervision of Inspector Aftab Ahmed to check vehicles on GT Road in order to curb smuggling.
The inspector, along with his team members, started checking vehicles on GT Road near Wazirabad, and during this activity the team intercepted a suspicious Mazda van coming from Rawalpindi and en route to Lahore. The team checked the vehicle and recovered smuggled cosmetics and mobile phone accessories that were hidden in secret cavities of the Mazda van.
The officials asked the driver, namely Rafique, about the booking documents of the confiscated items, but he could not produce the same. The driver revealed that the said items were loaded from Rawalpindi on the directives of the van stand manager, and that he was just a transporter.
Therefore, the officials confiscated the said items and issued a notice to the manager under the Customs Act, 1969, while the driver of the vehicle was released after proper interrogation.
Assistant Collector Fahad Bashir said that the drive against smuggling was in full swing in the region, and that the ASO squad members were performing their duty round the clock to eliminate smuggling from Gujranwala and other areas in their jurisdiction. He added that the case would now be forwarded to the Customs Adjudication for further legal action.
