The Collectorate of Customs Hyderabad on Saturday destroyed a sizable quantity of contraband goods and narcotics which were recovered by its field units from different parts of the region
.According to a spokesman of the Collectorate Customs, the seized contraband goods and narcotics which burnt to ashes and included 38,170 sticks of cigarettes, 42.5 tons of betel nuts, 138,700 pouches of Gutka, 14 bottles of liquor and 10 kilograms of hashish.
The representatives of all relevant departments, including the judiciary, district administration, police, Rangers, FIA, IB, and EPA were also present at the time of the burning of the seized contraband goods and narcotics.
Meanwhile, the spokesman said that the Collectorate of Customs had initiated a crackdown against all kinds of smuggled/contraband goods and narcotics.
Hectic efforts were being made to penetrate smuggling cartels through a network of informers. Efforts were also made to engage other law enforcement and intelligence agencies to make leaps in confiscation of contraband and interdiction of narcotics, the spokesman added.
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In this regard, he said that the collector of Customs assigned special tasks to various field units to enhance vigilance and remain on high alert. Owing to the proactive approach adopted by the collector and efforts made by the staff, the seizures in the first quarter have hit record highs, the spokesman stated.
He added that these untiring efforts resulted in the major recovery of narcotics which include 650 kgs of hashish (charas), 120 kgs of opium and 650 grams of heroin
He said that efforts were also underway to curb the new trend of smuggling contraband items through courier services. In one such case, he said that on October 13, 2021, the ASO team, headed by the inspector in-charge, along with his, staff raided a well-known courier service office located in Mirpurkhas and successfully confiscated 60 bags of kutch slab, weighing 1,800 kgs.
The market value of confiscated goods is about Rs2 million rupees. Further investigation is underway to determine the role of the courier company and the alleged parties. APP
Published in The Express Tribune, October 17th, 2021.
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