Imran Zakir
KARACHI: Model Customs Collectorate Preventive (ASO) thwarted an attempt on the coastal belt near Dam/Sonmiani, Balochistan to smuggle more than Rs 170 million worth of liquor and seized after a successful operation by Anti-Smuggling Organization (ASO) carried out by them first time independently without any help of any other security agency sated by Chief Collector Customs Preventive Saqif Saeed in at a Press conference on at Preventive Club Kemarri, Saturday. He was accompanied by Chief Collector Customs Enforcement Saifuddin Junejo.
He was informed the media that the boat named All Madad with registration number BFD-14830 had a large quantity of smuggled liquor which was being tried to be offloaded at midnight near Somiani belt at 2 a.m in night. The boats were being monitored on a speedboat called Al-Kabeer.
Meanwhile, four small boats approached there and start shifting the bundles from the Al-Madad boat. However, the Marine Department personnel proceeded to the launch as planned. The suspected boat crews open the fire on Customs speedboat when they see the staff coming towards them. Customs officials also returned fire in defense, fearing to be caught; the accused fled in small boats and managed to escape.
He said that as a result of the operation, 9,432 bottles of expensive liquor and 720 cans of beer were recovered. Valuable foreign liquor of various brands valued at more than Rs. 170 million in the global market was also confiscated. He said that it is very important that Pakistan Customs Preventive has been operating in the open sea in the past in collaboration with Pakistan Maritime Security Agency but this time independently.
He briefed newsmen about this mid-night operation. According to details, Additional Collector Haroon Malik formed a team led by Assistant Collector Shafi Ullah and Superintendent Anti- Smuggling Iftikhar Hassan who were made successful seizure.
