HYDERABAD:The Collectorate of Customs Hyderabad Saturday destroyed a sizable quantity of contraband goods and narcotics which were recovered by its field units from different parts of the region.
According to a spokesman of Collectorate Customs, the seized contraband goods and narcotics which burnt to ashes today included 38170 sticks of cigarettes, 42.5 tons of betel nuts, 138700 pouches of Gutka, 14 bottles of liquor and 10 kilograms of Charas.
The representatives of all relevant departments including Judiciary,District Administration, Police, Rangers, FIA, IB and EPA were also present at the time of burning of seized contraband goods and narcotics.
Meanwhile, the spokesman informed that the Collectorate of Customs Hyderabad has initiated a crackdown against all kinds of smuggled/contraband goods and narcotics. Hectic efforts are being made to penetrate the smuggling cartels through a network of informers.
Efforts were also made to engage other law enforcement and intelligence agencies for making leaps in confiscation of contraband and interdiction of narcotics, he added.
In this regard, the spokesman informed that the Collector of Customs assigned special tasks to various field units to enhance vigilance and remain on high alert. Owing to the proactive approach adopted by the Collector and efforts made by the staff, the seizures in the first quarter are record high, the spokesman informed
and added, these untiring efforts resulted in major cases of narcotics
which include 650 kgs of Hashish (Charas), 120 Kgs of Opium and 650 grams of heroin, were amongst it.
He said that efforts were also underway to curb the new trend of smuggling contraband items through courier service.
In one such case, he informed that on October 13, 2021, the ASO team headed by the inspector in-charge along with his staff raided a well known Courier Service office located at Mirpurkhas and successfully confiscated 60 bags of Kutch Slab, weighing 1800 kgs (approx). The market value of confiscated goods is about two (2)
million rupees. Further investigation is underway to determine the role of the courier company and the alleged parties.