ISLAMABAD:Customs Intelligence has seized smuggled cigarettes worth Rs303 million during the last ten days in its country-wide operations.
The largest catch has been made in Balochistan, where Customs Intelligence seized 4,280,000 sticks of foreign brands of cigarettes, valuing Rs. 114.2 million, said a press release issued here on Friday.
In the province of Sindh eight operations have resulted in the seizure of 1,420,700 sticks of high-end brands of cigarettes having a value of Rs. 69.7 million.
Similarly, during intelligence-based operations in Punjab, the Customs Intelligence team seized 1,294,000 sticks of smuggled cigarettes valuing Rs. 75.3 million.
Likewise, KP Customs Intelligence has seized 1,155,000 sticks of smuggled cigarettes worth Rs. 43.9 million.
In all, during the last ten days, Customs Intelligence has seized a total of 8,149,700 sticks of smuggled cigarettes worth Rs. 303 million.
This takes the tally of seizures of smuggled cigarettes by the Customs Intelligence in the current FY 2022-23 to 33,994,850 sticks with a total value of Rs. 1324 million.
The Chairman FBR Asim Ahmad and Director General, Customs Intelligence, Mr. Faiz Ahmad Chadhar, lauded the efforts of Customs Intelligence Quetta, Karachi, Multan, Gwadar, Hyderabad, Lahore, Rawalpindi and Peshawar for taking timely actions against the smuggling of illegal cigarettes.
They acknowledged that despite minimal human resources and logistics, Customs Intelligence is persistently making endeavours to eradicate the menace of smuggling in general and of smuggled cigarettes in particular.