PESHAWAR: Customs officials in Peshawar have successfully foiled an attempt to smuggle arms and ammunition from Afghanistan to Pakistan.
Information was received through Collector Mohammad Ashfaq to Additional Collector Afnan Khan that an attempt would be made to smuggle contraband arms and ammunition in a specially designed cavity of a coal-laden vehicle coming from Afghanistan.
On May 6th, 2023, at 10:35 AM, the vehicle in question was scanned by the NLC scanner, and an abnormal scan image was detected. Upon examination, Customs Inspector Zia Ur Rehman, along with his staff, discovered suspicious goods concealed in the special designated cavity of the vehicle. The cavity was well welded with metallic sheets, which were cut open using a weld machine and a hammer.
Inside the cavity, the officials found 88 12-bore guns, 600 12-bore cartridges, and 11,000 kgs of mineral coal. The market value of the guns was estimated to be 9.68 million PKR, while the cartridges were valued at 0.18 million PKR. The mineral coal was valued at 0.638 million PKR, and the vehicle itself, a six-wheeler with registration number C-8782, was valued at 4 million PKR.
The accused, identified as Abdul Qadar, a resident of Nangarhar, Afghanistan, and holder of Afghan passport number P00739556, failed to produce any legal documents on the spot. He was immediately arrested for violating relevant sections of the Customs Act, 1969, and the vehicle was taken into custody.
This successful operation by the Customs officials is being hailed as a major achievement in their ongoing efforts to curb illegal arms smuggling across the border. The authorities have vowed to continue their efforts to clamp down on such activities and bring those responsible to justice.