RECORDER REPORT

KARACHI: The Model Customs Collectorate, (Enforcement), Multan has confiscated smuggled goods worth Rs501 million during Aug-Sep, 2021 period.

According to the details, during an intensified counter-smuggling drive, the collectorate has seized smuggled goods including betel nuts, welding electrodes, tyres, skimmed milk powder, non-customs-paid vehicles, narcotics, cigarettes, mobile phones, High-Speed Diesel (HSD) etc. The market value of the confiscated smuggled goods is estimated to be Rs501 million. The officials said that the collectorate after anticipating the influx of smuggled goods was establishing new customs offices including check posts/small forts en route from Fort Monroe in the settled area of Muzaffargarh and in Bahawalpur which hitherto did not exist; other such areas and smuggling hotspots were also being identified.

In addition, the Collectorate has also requested for the provision of adequate human resources and financial resources for ensuring a strong presence in the smuggling-prone southern Punjab.

It is pertinent to mention that there was a growing need for enhanced vigilance due to the newly established roads network at Motorways and National Highways and the incessant rise in smuggling due to higher tariffs.