MULTAN: The newly deputed Customs Collector, Dr Rehmatulah Vistro Thursday vowed to stop smuggled items to augment the government’s efforts to curb the menace as the country could not afford it in existing economic conditions.
Speaking at a maiden news conference here he informed that Customs Collectorate (Enforcement Multan ) seized a Multan-bound bus heading from Quetta and confiscated smuggled items worth over Rs 25 million from the cavities including betel nuts and skimmed milk concealed in a novel way.
He stated that on a tip-off, a team consisting of additional collector Irfan Shaukat, and assistant collector, Habib ur Rehman, was constituted to foil the smuggling bid adding that normally the bus has an emergency gate on the other side of the road while it has on the roadside for smuggling purposes.
The team raided the bus near Sher Shah toll plaza and found the items in the cavities which included betel nuts for Rs 5 million, and skimmed milk worth Rs7million while the bus cost was Rs15 mln.
The collector maintained that the smuggled goods of Rs over 128 million were seized in the current month so far and added that the collectorate would share a whats app number soon with the public to inform the department about smugglers and their bids if they come to know.
To a query, Dr Rehmatulah noted that they would not disturb anyone good for nothing but the people found involved in smuggling won’t be spared.
Answering another question, the collector stated that a zero-tolerance policy would be adopted on it.
Additional Collector Irfan Shaukat, Deputy Collector Maryam Haq and Assistant Collector Habib ur Rehman were also present.