DTH devices worth Rs97.8m seized, SC informed

48 FIRs registered and 59 people arrested: report

ISLAMABAD: A committee constituted by the Supreme Court reveals that the customs authorities have seized illegal DTH devices worth Rs97.8 million from various markets.

The committee comprising officials of the FBR, FIA and PEMRA submitted the final report to the apex court in which it stated that the illegal DTH devices have almost disappeared from the local market due to joint enforcement operations.

The report reveals that 48 FIRs have been registered and 59 people arrested along with 11,247 items of DTH equipment seized.

In Punjab, 44 cases have been registered and 53 people arrested during the operations.

On the other hand, PEMRA has blocked 24 websites which were involved in selling the smuggled equipment. IP addresses of these websites have been traced and screenshots of the advertisements saved.

The report says that the people involved in the illegal business have started using WhatsApp groups for advertising and facilitating the illegal sale of DTH equipment and C-line services besides financial transactions. Lists of such numbers have been shared with the FIA along with their users’ details.