Going waste: After impounding vehicles, ANF lets them rust

Instead of auctioning them, vehicles are rusting in the open; parts are often stolen and sold in nearby shops.

RAWALPINDI:

Rusted and weathered, hundreds of vehicles confiscated by the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) have been rotting for years along Tulsa Road, near Lalazar Colony, it has been learnt.

Over 250 trucks, buses, pickup vans, trucks and mini buses that stand idly on an open rented plot were impounded by the ANF for being used for transportation of narcotics.

Without shelter, the vehicles are in a deplorable condition and have had most of their parts stolen over the years. Sources allege that parts are stolen from these vehicles and sold at the spare parts stores sprouted around the neighbourhood.

Under anti-narcotics laws, if their owners are convicted the confiscated vehicles can be auctioned to generate revenue for the force. Only those vehicles are allowed to be reclaimed by their owners who are acquitted in drug cases.

However, during the past year only two of such vehicles were auctioned by the ANF.

An ANF official, requesting anonymity, said it was difficult to safeguard the vehicles as it has to cover four districts — Islamabad, Attock, Chakwal and Jhelum — besides Rawalpindi.

Locals alleged that the large number of vehicles in the woods serve as a “haven for addicts and thieves” and, therefore, are a nuisance for the residents of the neighbouring localities.

“During the past few weeks mysterious fires have erupted in the parking plots”, Muhammad Shoaib, a local resident, said while adding that reports had been received about spare parts being stolen from government-owned vehicles.

ANF staff deputed to protect the vehicles did not talk to The Express Tribune and refused to let the shabby vehicles in the parking lot be photographed.

Advocate Ahsan Hameed Lila said that under the narcotics act, the federal government could confiscate any vehicle carrying narcotics.

The lawyer said there were only two exemptions when the ANF had to return the vehicles. One is if the owner of the vehicle is not directly involved in the drug peddling, and secondly if the owner is acquitted of narcotics trafficking charges by a court of law.

Lila said the ANF was authorised to auction the vehicles after the owners were convicted.

A senior ANF official at the regional directorate said that due to wear and tear, the force only sold two vehicles last year, although over two dozen were put on auction.

ANF Public Relations Officer Major Qaisar refused to comment on the issue, saying he did not have the complete picture. He suggested contacting a senior official on a working day to get a better picture of the status of confiscated vehicles. The Express Tribune tried to contact ANF Rawalpindi Director Brigadier Faheem for his views, but he was not available for comment.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 3^rd, 2012.