LAHORE: A vegetable consignment from India was seized on Wagah border on Friday and "spying equipment" was recovered during security screening, Express News reported.
The devices hidden inside a crate of tomatoes included sound recorders and other equipment.
Express News quoted sources as saying that four men, transporting the consignment have also been detained and are being investigated. Their nationalities could not be ascertained as yet.
The devices have been sent off to experts for inspection.
Bizarrely enough
In December 2011, Pakistan captured a monkey, found wandering in Cholistan, all the way from India.
In 2010, Indian police held a pigeon under armed guard after it was caught on an “alleged spying mission” for Pakistan.
COMMENTS (80)
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While I'm the most ardent opponent of conspiracy theories you can find, anyone who denies that, despite all the peaceful overtures between Pakistan and India, the countries are still in the midst of a veritable cold war is naive.
AMAN KA TAMACHA
I bet you the recording device is made in china though.
When Indians can arrest pigeon as Pakistani terrorist then its possible too.
Lizzy @ it could have been worse. Had it not bern for the great Quad-e-Azam then we would have had these people in our homes. Just look at Kashmir.
@Yuri Kondratyuk: Prices of electronics are cheaper in Pakistan than in India. If it was the other way around, it was understandable... But stop being sarcastic about Pakistan for God's sake..
May be they liked FM W11 and wanted to hear them.
The reality is, tomatoes and hog farms are side by side in India. Some of the tomato growers use hog droppings as manure. The exporters did not want the Pakistani consumers to know this. In order to avoid a backlash, Indian exporters tricked the whole Pakistani stake holders by disguising third rate recording devices in tomatoes.
I am glad our packing is good at least ... Indians haven't found anything yet :)
Raw Vegetables!
It could be THE REVENGE OF THE KILLER TOMATOES!!!
Everybody who enters Pakistan brings some common electronics. All N. R. Pakistanais do that in each trip home, and so do the NRI. Of course with the smuggling culture we have in S. Asia, some of the goods would be illegally transported between the two countries. The spy equipment is micro and does not need vegitable cartons. It can easily be carried in the palm of a tiny hand.
Now if this tamato ended up in Mr. Nawas Sharif's Kitchen who loves to eat in the kitchen area could transmit some serious conversation to the indian about the gajar ka halwa and Biryani folks.
On second thought all vegitable vendors in country should be investigated to see if they are raw agents and recording conversations from GHQ and President and Prime minister Houses through these wireless recording devices.
They are trying to steal Pakistan's recipe for....success?? Tolerance? Or just Peshwari nan?
@Vishnu Dutta: ipod number 2 if its from India.....we don't want number 2 maal.
@Enlightened: Wow! Sharp and perceptive!
We will turn any distasteful attempts to sabotage us into CHUTNEY. Beware of the bhindi from hindi!
Incidently this news report comes a day after three LeT terrorists were arrested in Delhi.
some body wants to stop the supply of fresh produce from india so they can increase the prices of local produce. It is all supply and demand. DA.....
They were trying to get secret Pakistani recipes - straight from the kitchen!
i dont understand....why is pakistan so paranoid of india....pakistan knows there's nothing to fear from india.....all it has to fear is the extremist it has created.....
Suggest stop all imports from India.
Reminds of Indian weapons in USSR embassy in Dhaka, 2015 plan to break Pakistan gets real day by day.
Spying tomatoes seem to be synonymous with the best seller Novel titled "Exploding Mangoes". Expressed in a lighter vein, this matter seem to usher -in a next bad patch of relationship with the biggest neighbor, where leaders as well as the khaki tend to keep adversity abound. It is our sincere hope against all the past dupes, that both nations focus on the prosperity of their poor lot.
lol
"Spying Tomatoes' found in consignment of devices from India: Report ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The moment you eat those tomatoes you start speaking truth...about terrorism, OBL, etc.
The funniest thing is not supposedly espionage devices supposedly found in veggies but people believing that a country would use veggies in 21st century common nerds RAW is much more efficient and classier than this crap
@Sudheer: well you are right sudheer.. RAW is a foolish agency indeed..they do anything against pakistan..they have no civic sense..lolx
Making people fool to increase Defence Budget..... No one focuses on genetically modified food being used and tested on people of Pakistan by China. Those vegetables are much more dangerous than such spying potatoes.
Any thing is plausable,,, Just recently the Russians found a listening device hidden in a rock which was put there by the british so dont knock it..
@Sudheer:
so you have doubts that RAW is most foolish spy agency ?
It is our gift to Hafiz Saeed
after reading all the comments, I am sure someone in Pakistan will soon write a book titled, what else but...." a case of recording tomatoes "..:)@Sudheer, "Raw must be the most foolish spy agency to send them to Pakistan" They really are foolish then.
Vegetarianism
confidence building measures
Stupid report and equally stupid comments from Pakistanis. Sound recorders and other surveillance devices are openly available in the markets of almost all the countries in the world including Pakistan. Raw must be the most foolish spy agency to send them to Pakistan, that too in the tomato crates!! Pakistan is an interesting country indeed.
May be these spy devices were intended to keep an eye on the vegetable vendors and ensure that potatoes were not being sold as tomatoes. Shame on the Indians, oh sorry were these arrested guys Pakistani ?
I dream of a world where Vegetables are secular and nonpartisan
@Sir King Kong Bunty: Non serious argument on a serious matter.
Long live AMAN KI ASHA
Hahaha spying with tomatoes, Pakistan should take these tomatoes to the UN
Why bring recorders all the way from India, Are sound recorders not locally available in Pakistan??? Has it reached the 15th century already? even mobile phones have sound recorders, so will Pakistan stop people from carrying mobile phones
@Asma Stop trading with India!
Yes, India should stop supplying vegetables to Pakistan?? Pakistan can buy Chinese tomatos lol!
@Hamid: Sure. Complain to International community that Indians smuggled an iPod in tomato crate.
Our spies cant find a recording instrument in Pakistan? What a joke.
Did your police consider that someone might be smuggling electronics from India to pakistan.
Sound recorders in tomato crates for spying ? enough of jokes, friends
aman ki asha my foot
So 'Spy Tomatos' by Indians! Those tomatoes should be executed immediately by making 'Karahi Gosht' out of them. Need to send strong message to Indians.
Transforming such sensitive devices via tamato crats makes no sense. It may b a conspiracy against pak india trade. Spy agenies i thnk may not use such risky ways.
that's a shame and i genuinely thought we were finally on our way to a better relationship.
Aman ki (L)asha
@Yuri Kondratyuk: Yuri, It would be cheaper for Pak to get Chinese electronics from China instead of having it smuggled from India. Stop trolling . dont you guys have to finish building that aircraft carrier or do you plan to pay the penalties to your best friend?
Stop trading with India!
Aman ki asha
What better could AMAN KI ASHA do. india is a hypocrite unveiled long ago. Atleast Pakistan is not into fake Aman ki Asha type projects which are also used to buy off media persons and give them mandate to film areas in Pakistan which even might be of significance.
This is tit for tat because of the heroin consignment that was uncovered last week on the train from Pakistan. However, unlike heroin, the sound recorders idea is really funny - we will now know vegetable prices in Pakistan which is a national secret.
yar ye to "most favourite nation" hai na "Aman ki aashaa wali"
haha... most favored nation =)
Aman ki Asha? Anyone? No one?
Pakistan should take this issue to an international level and mainstream it on the media.
India is our best friend and we should stop complaining about petty issues.
I never agree to do any trade with India, they can never be our friends We dont know, from how many days, it was going like this Authority must take serious and hard action against this matter
A few days back Indian customs found banned drugs worth millions of dollars concealed in cement bags in goods train from Pakistan. It so appears that Pakistan is just playing tit for tat policy but without application of mind. How does a sound recorder lying in tomato crate help in spying ?
so much for MFN
Most likely its a case of electronic goods being smuggled. Pakistanis should stop being drama queens.
Obviously this is a conspiracy theory by us Pakistanis.
India shouldn't arrest LeT linked militants.
they are our MFN dont worry..
What could someone who is trying to spy possibly get from putting a device in a crate full of edibles that would be emptied/discarded? I can't imagine there's any way to hide it very well, either. It really doesn't sound like something anyone who would actually be spying would be dumb enough to think of as a viable way to reach such a goal.
"Vegetable conspiracy" recording devices will record nothing more than potato and tomato prices in Pakistani fruit mandi. come on. stop this joke with people on both sides of the border.
These veggies are RAW agents! Grill them!