Staff Reporter
The Collectorate of Customs (Enforcement-Multan) has intensified counter-smuggling campaign and has seized huge quantity of smuggled goods worth amounting to Rs1,300 million, during the period from July-November 10, 2021.
The value of the seized goods is 18% higher than the corresponding period of last year. Besides, the Collectorate, in a bid to enhance revenue generation, by conducting auctions of the long pending lots, has collected Rs151 million from sale proceeds of vehicles and miscellaneous goods.
These efforts have yielded positive results and revenue has increased by 181% in comparison to the last year’s collection of Rs53 million.
According to details to Collector Customs Multan Imran Ahmad Chaudhry e, the ASO formation of DG Khanintercepted three trucks loaded with smuggled goods including Betel Nut, Chewing Tobbaco, synthetic flavours, tyres and cigarettes and skimmed milk-powder etc. valuing, approximately, Rs90 million.
These smuggled goods and vehicles belong to notorious rackets of smugglers like Sadiq Khan and Abdul Rehman etc.
Imran Ahmad Ch informed that never-seen-before and unconventional routes are being used by smugglers for transport of smuggled goods.
However, with a view to adopt effective counter-smuggling measures, the Collectorate, in the areas under its jurisdiction which spans over three civil divisions, namely, DG Khan, Bahawalpur and Multan, has identified seven sensitive areas vis-a-vis flow of traffic for establishing check-posts establishing new Customs offices including check posts/small forts which hitherto did not exist.
The approval for creation of new check-posts has been sought from the FBR. He said that apart from this, the Collectorate has taken up with the FBR for provision of adequate human resource and financial resources for establishing concrete paraphernalia by ensuring strong presence in the smuggling-prone Southern Punjab.
Imran Ahmad Ch said that to ensure inter-agency cooperation, liaison with law-enforcement and other agencies has been increased to put concerted efforts for taking preemptive measures, by ensuring enhanced vigilance and area-wise surveillance to curb illicit flow of goods.
In this regard, close coordination with Punjab Rangers, Border Military Police (BMP), Motorway Police and National Highway Authority (NHA) have been made. The Collectorate has also started invoking AML (Anti-Money Laundering).
The cases of money-laundering, as have been instituted under the Anti Money Laundering Act, 2010, are being forwarded to the Directorate of Intelligence & Investigation (I & I – Customs) for further probe.
