KARACHI: Finally, the Ministry of Defense has taken note of the mega scam i.e. pilferage and illegal removal of goods from the US Army/NATO/ISAF cargo.
The Ministry of Defense (MoD) in a letter to Customs authorities has sought details of non-military cargo that was pilfered during transit via Pakistan.
The Directorate General of Transit Trade has established a case wherein 22 containers of US Army based in Afghanistan containing power generators were pilfered. These goods were to be shipped to Dubai.
D.G Transit Trade Khawar Fareed Manika, Director Wajid Ali and his team pursued the case efficiently and the investigations progressed quite fast. Several arrests were made and the entire ring has been discovered.
MoD has sought all the details of the pilferage of non-military cargo and the sources suggest that there could be government-to-government level discussions in this regard.
It may be recalled that there have been developments and evidence as well which suggest that the US authorities were aware of this scam, but instead of taking any action or informing Pakistan government, they covered this illegal activity.
Moreover, the Director General of Customs Intelligence had also made cases regarding pilferage of good off 8 containers of NATO/ISAF forces in Afghanistan. This was a crime of heinous nature as hazardous waste was pilfered and dumped into the country.
It may be recalled that some 12 containers supposed to contain lead acid batteries and hazmat waste were shipped to Germany but the same were found empty there.
Director General I&I Lutfullah Virk and the team led by Additional Director Nadeem Ahsan pursued the case without any influence and also made important arrests.
Sources said that both the directorates have been given free hand and advised to take no pressure or influence and take the cases to the logical ends and the culprits should be taken to task.