KARACHI: Anti-smuggling organization (ASO) of MCC Preventive Karachi has recovered a bogey full of betel nut from a train in a raid conducted at City Station, Karachi.
Information was received through Collector Dr. Iftikhar to Additional Collector Aamir Theim that betel nut will be transported to Karachi through a train coming from Multan. Deputy Collector Muhammad Faisal led the raiding team himself and reached City Station. Inspection led to recovery of a bogey full of betel nut worth millions of rupees.
It may be mentioned here that legal import of betel nut stopped about a year ago when Department of Plant Protection imposed certain quarantine restrictions. However, the commodity is easily available in the market.
Several companies in the business of betel nut and sonf-supari are continuing their production and their warehouses are full of smuggled betel-nut.
An official said senior Customs officers were patronizing their illegal trade and stopped the field officers from conducting raids on the warehouses of betel-nut and sonf-supari companies.