ISLAMABAD: Customs Intelligence on Wednesday claimed to have confiscated smuggled cigarettes worth millions of rupees from different cities of the country.
According to FBR, Customs Intelligence on directives from Federal Board of Revenue Chairman Asim Ahmad and Director General Customs Intelligence Faiz Ahmad Chadhar, the crackdown on cigarette traffickers has been intensified and many raids have been carried out against the smugglers during the past 24 hours.
In the wee hours of Wednesday, Customs Intelligence Karachi confiscated 250,000 sticks of foreign brands cigarettes, having value of Rs10 million while in another raid, 400,000 cigarette sticks of foreign brands were confiscated from Saddr area of Karachi having market value of Rs25 million.
Similarly, 4000 sticks worth Rs4 million and 1,050,000 sticks having total value of Rs30 million were recovered from Multan and Dera Ismail Khan respectively.
Overall, during the last 24 hours, Customs Intelligence has confiscated 1,780,000 sticks of cigarettes of foreign brands including Pine Mini, Dunhill, Benson & Hedges, Inhale, Speed Blue and Royal Business with a value of Rs79 million.
The Customs Intelligence has reiterated the resolve to eradicate the menace of cigarette smuggling. Despite limited resources, Customs Intelligence has confiscated 39,187,000 sticks of cigarettes having a total value of Rs1.093 billion during the ongoing financial year 2022-23.
Chairman FBR MAsim Ahmad and Director General Customs Intelligence Faiz Ahmad Chadhar have appreciated the successful raids in Karachi, Dera Ismail Khan, Peshawar and Multan and expressed optimism that Customs Intelligence will continue its crackdown against smuggling in general and the smuggled cigarettes in particular.
