KARACHI: The Post Clearance Audit (PCA) South Customs has detected illegal pilferage of seized goods from two sea ports of Karachi.
Under the supervision of Director-General Post Clearance Audit Chaudhary Zulfiqar Ali and Director PCA South, Sheeraz Ahmed, the PCA team detected scam that underscores systematic manipulation to misappropriate seized goods worth Rs 83 million.
Sources said that PCA South received credible that a cartel of importers was involved in pilfering offending goods (machine parts, electronic items, aluminum sheets etc.) from the sea ports which had been “confiscated” upon adjudication by the adjudicating authorities.
PCA’s initial scrutiny of customs data uncovered three fraudulent importers M/s Sadiq Jahan Lahori & Company, M/s Glowell Industries (Private) Limited, and M/s Znz Brands who suppressed and defied the adjudication orders to misappropriate seized goods in league with port authorities and customs functionaries.
The fraudulent removal of confiscated goods took place at the Karachi International Container Terminal (KICT) and Qasim International Container Terminal (QICT) operating under the Customs Appraisement Collectorates of West and Port Muhammad Bin Qasim (PMBQ), Karachi.
The Adjudicating authorities seized the offending goods in 3 import GDs; while granting the importers the option to redeem confiscated goods upon payment of redemption fine totaling Rs28 million, in terms of SRO 499(I)/2009, dated 13.6.2009.
The importers fraudulently obtained possession of “confiscated” goods without settling the redemption fines, thus stealing government property from the ports.
This clandestine operation resulted in the loss of government owned goods worth Rs83 million. PCA team apprehend that the scope of this intricate scam can be much wider and detected three cases are merely a tip of the ice berg. The sophisticated fraud poses challenging questions about port security and compliance, pointing to serious systemic flaws.
PCA South has registered 3 FIRs implicating importers M/s Sadiq Jahan Lahori & Company, M/s Glowell Industries (Private) Limited, and M/s Znz Brands, besides also implicating their accomplices and clearing agents i.e. M/s Ashraf Forwarding Agent, M/s Nasir Steel Co, and M/s Sial Enterprises.
Accused Usman Tariq, Director of M/s Glowell Industries has been arrested, while two PCA teams adopted measures to arrest the remaining fraudsters and their accomplices, who connived in the organized theft. PCA South’s efforts in detecting this intricate fraud reaffirm their commitment to upholding integrity within customs and port operations.
