Robbers haul away 217 tea sacks worth Rs8m from warehouse

PTA urges government to provide protection to the traders

KARACHI:

The plunging value of rupee has already given flight to prices of imports, and while the Pakistanis can barely live without tea, it has become a prized commodity and target of robbers.

The Pakistan Tea Association (PTA) has condemned the robbery of 217sacks of tea worth Rs8 million from a warehouse in the Sindh Industrial and Trading Estate (SITE) Area, Karachi.

A group of eight to 10 armed men entered the warehouse located at SITE Industrial Area, Maripur, took the watchman and other employees hostage, and hauled away 219 sacks containing 10 tonnes of tea. A man had pleaded with the gatekeeper to let him in so that he could drink some water from the cooler at the factory’s premises.

Showing humanity, the gatekeeper allowed the thirsty to enter, but another 10 men carrying weapons barged in too.  They took the tea consignment and rode out in their mini-pickup. The warehouse owners immediately reported the incident to the SITE police station and registered case number 56 of 2022. On this occasion, the PTA conveyed to the government that looting in the industrial area was a matter of grave concern.

The association leaders appealed to the Sindh chief minister and IGP to take immediate action against the culprits, expose the group involved in the robbery and severely punish them. The PTA also demanded that the government provide protection to the traders and business community and prevent such incidents from happening in the future.