KARACHI: MCC Preventive has seized another consignment of mobile phones which was imported on vague description and under single PCT and now it was being re-exported as frustrated cargo.
The consignment was imported by M/s Zawa Impex Lahore in August and no GD or TP was filed for the consignment clearance. Later the importer filed a request for re-export of consignment stating the consignment was actually meant for Dubai, where they kept their stock and it was then imported in smaller lots.
Assistant Collector One Customs Rana Arsalan and Principal Appraiser Abdul Qayyum and Appraising Officer Mubarak Shah refused the re-export and noted it was not frustrated cargo.
MCC Preventive has been quite hard on pilferage and replacement of Transshipment cargo (TP). Therefore, the elements involved in this illicit trade resorted to re-export the cargo imported on vague description under single PCT.
Cargo imported on single PCT is replaced with very low value goods during the transit as these consignments were transshipped to dry ports as per the modus operandi and their dirty business.
On the directives of Chief Collector Enforcement Zahid Khokhar, Star Mobile Market was raided recently, as it was concrete information that mobile phones pilfered out of TP consignments were being houses at Star Mobile market.
Smuggling of mobile phones has been widely discouraged as the Assistant Collector ASO Preventive Syed Raza Naqvi and his team has eliminated TP replacement while Additional Collector AFU Tahir Qureshi has imposed strict surveillance on domestic air passenger cargo.
ASO Preventive seized replacement of TP cargo red-handed one each in May and October 2015. In December 2015 two re-export consignments were seized.
Sources said authorities that around a dozen containers which were imported for the purpose of subsequent pilferage are lying at the port.
Manifest Clearance Section is not active on WeBOC which was creating difficulties in identifying the above mentioned containers.