The Collectorate of Customs Appraisement (West) has unearthed massive scam in the clearance of old and used vehicles through the submission of fake documents, and arrested nine suspects, including bank officials.
Irfan Ali, a spokesman for the customs, said on Friday the Collectorate of Customs Appraisement (West), Custom House, Karachi had unearthed scam in the clearance of old and used vehicles through the submission of fake proceed realisation certificates (PRCs) and encashment certificates.
In this regard, a member (Customs-Operations), chief collector of the Customs Appraisement (South), and the collector of Customs Appraisement (West) instructed the R&D branch of this collectorate to investigate the scam and arrest the culprits.
The R&D staff are said to be working day and night to investigate and have been successful in arresting nine suspects, including passport providers, fake PRC providers and bank staff.
So far, three FIRs have been lodged on orders from the Special Customs Court, Karachi.
All the suspects are on remand till December 14, 2021.During the initial interrogation, the active role of certain banks and their staff have been ascertained.
A major breakthrough was achieved when a representative of a private bank, who has been arrested by the R&D staff, admitted he issued fake PRCs for financial gains.
Moreover, a network of notorious fake PRC and passport providers has also been unearthed, and 29 fake PRCs have been identified so far.
In addition to it, more suspicious and dubious PRCs are being detected and will be sent to the head offices of relevant banks for verification.
Strict action will be taken against all those involved in this scam.Earlier, a credible piece of information was received by the Collector of Customs Appraisement (West) that some unscrupulous elements were engaged in the clearance of vehicles.
