ISLAMABAD: At least two officials of Pakistan Customs were injured when a group of armed smugglers resisted seizure and arrest at Islamabad Expressway.
The gang of smugglers allegedly headed by Raja Shakeel also damaged two official vehicles of the Customs department so that they could not chase them. The smugglers drove away with the truck loaded with high-quality Indian tamarind (imli) that was being transported to the capital city from Lahore.
The officials however, arrested one of the smugglers. The rest of the smugglers fled from the scene. Earlier, the armed smugglers resorted to torture on the Customs officials resulting in injury of two officials. The injured were rushed to the hospital for medical treatment.
The incident submitted by the Customs officials to the Koral police station, a Customs Mobile Squad comprising Asghar Kamal Inspector, Hawaldar Zafar, Sepoy Muhammad Akram, Sepoy Raja Abbas and driver Shahid were setting up a picket at Channi Pul Rawat, Islamabad when at around 4:30 in the morning on Wednesday, they saw a Mazda truck coming from Lahore.
The officials tried to stop the suspicious vehicle bearing registration number LES-9933. The driver of the vehicle did not stop and after a difficult chase, it was stopped near Mandra Toll Plaza. Upon cursory inspection, they found out that the vehicle was loaded with high quality Indian tamarind. The vehicle was being driven to the Customs warehouse in sector G-12 via the Expressway. Near Koral police station, Raja Shakeel, Raja Aqeel, Mushtaq and some other unknown persons on a vehicle, FD-86 chased them and resorted to aerial firing.
According to the application submitted with the police, the accused also tortured the officials. They took away the seized vehicle loaded with tamarind and hit the official vehicles i.e. Toyota Corolla Vigos bearing registration numbers GAB-996 (ICT) and GZ-814 (ICT) so that they could not chase them.
Consequently, driver Shahid and Raja Abbas got injured. The police however, arrested one of the accused while the others fled away from the scene. The Customs officials later approached the Koral police station for legal action against the accused. The police have registered a case under section 353, 186, 148, 149, 324, 440, 34 of the PPC and 7-ATA and further investigation is underway, according to the police.
