Customs foil bid to smuggle 39 tonnes of urea to Afghanistan

Experts say the seized urea can be used for agricultural purposes as well as for the manufacture of explosives

TORKHAM:

In a massive operation, customs officials at Torkham border crossing foiled an attempt to smuggle 39 tonnes of urea to Afghanistan on Tuesday. The container was taken into custody along with an accused and investigation was launched, officials said.

Additional Collector Customs Torkham Muhammad Tayyab told The Express Tribune that he had received intelligence that a container had entered the Torkham jurisdictions on June 30 and attempts will be made to illegally export urea fertilizer to Afghanistan on counterfeit export documents for rice.

Tayyab said that a team led by Customs Superintendent Siddique Akbar, and comprising Inspector Junaid Khan and Inspector Rana Hafeez was formed to seize the urea, which is included in the list of banned items for export. The team searched day and night for the container, he added while lauding his team’s efforts.

Also read: Urea being smuggled to Afghanistan

Customs personnel searched the loaded container on suspicious trailer number KBL-1663 entering the export terminal today, he said, adding that 780 bags of illicit urea fertilizer were recovered from it. According to Additional Collector Tayyab, the total weight of confiscated urea is 39 tonnes and this is the largest shipment of urea seized in the history of Torkham Customs. The seized urea is valued at Rs4.68 million, he added.

Customs officials after seizing the trawler took the accused, Anwar Sadat, a resident of Afghanistan, into custody and launched an investigation. Customs staff registered the case against Sadat and vehicle owner Ajmal Khan, a resident of Kabul, and others under the Customs Export Import Control Act 1959 and 2022.

Also read: Customs foil bid to smuggle banned items to Afghanistan

According to experts, the seized urea can be used for agricultural purposes as well as for the manufacture of explosives.

It may be mentioned that the said container was declared clear after passing through Jamrud NLC weight fork and Torkham NLC scanner. After which it entered the export terminal at the border crossing.