20000227

Liquor worth

Rs 5m seized

KARACHI: The Customs Preventive Collectorate on Saturday foiled an attempt to smuggle in huge quantity of foreign liquor and seized over 4,700 bottles of assorted brands of the contraband from a dumping place in Ghora Bari area in District Thatta.

According to the Customs sources the value of the seized liquor which includes VAT 69, Teacher, Old Smuggler, Grants, Stewart etc,, is estimated at Rs 5 million.

The seizure was made following a tip received by additional Collector, Customs, Zahid Hussain Bhayo, about the smuggling of contraband to the country in huge quantities through sea route.

Following this information Customs Collector Zafar Iqbal chalked out a strategy and a raiding party was constituted and despatched to Hajamaro Creek (Ghorabari area), about 80 nautical miles from Karachi Port, in a launch on the evening of February 24.

During whole night vigil at the creek, however, no one turned up nor any suspicious movement was witnessed around the specific point and in the sea.

However, during combing of the area, the raiding party was able to spot a place where the liquor cargo was dumped and recovered the same from 199 gunny bags.

The Customs high-ups said that since nobody was present at the scene of seizure, there was a no possibility of anyone claiming ownership, to be linked with this case.

The riding party which was headed by IPS Abdul Jalil Brohi and comprising SPOs Irfan Ali Kalhoro, Umer Shah and PO Islamullah, brought the consignment from Hajamaro Creek, to the Customs Anti-Smuggling section at N.M.B. Wharf.

Customs said that investigation was underway to identify the smugglers to bring them to book.ÑAPP