KARACHI: The interim government is considering a proposal to strengthen the Directorate General of Intelligence & Investigation-Customs against smuggling and mis-invoicing and for better integrity management by creating new Directorates and providing additional resources.
Despite facing a shortage of specialised staff and inadequate funding and resources, the Directorate General of Intelligence & Investigation-Customs, under the command of Mr Faiz Ahmad Chadhar, Director General, has intensified its efforts to combat smuggling in line with the government’s strong determination to crack down on smugglers.
Faiz Ahmed is among the few having experience in sales tax, appraisement, enforcement and foreign service. He is a very competent and well reputed officer.
To achieve this goal, the Directorate General has conducted various successful Intelligence-Based Operations (IBOs) nationwide. Between 1st September, 2023 and 16th November, 2023, the Directorate General launched a coordinated anti-smuggling campaign to prevent the hoarding/smuggling of essential commodities and contraband items. During the 77-day period, the Directorate General seized items worth Rs. 14,981 million and recorded contravention cases worth Rs. 3,925 million, totalling Rs. 18,906 million.
During this period, several significant country-wide seizures have taken place, with the highest occurring in the province of Punjab where Customs Intelligence was able to seize smuggled goods worth Rs. 5,886 million, while operations in Sindh resulted in the seizure of smuggled goods valued at Rs. 5,038 million. In Balochistan, the Customs Intelligence team was able to seize smuggled goods worth Rs. 2,823 million through Intelligence-Based Operations. Similarly, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Customs Intelligence confiscated smuggled goods worth Rs. 1,234 million. I&I Karachi made 130 cases involving goods/taxes of Rs4.4 billion.
The major smuggling items seized included Miscellaneous Goods (Rs. 2,904 million), Cigarettes (Rs. 2,267 million), Vehicles (Rs. 2,057 million), Auto/Spare Parts (2,023), Betel Nuts (Rs. 1,013 million), Petrol (Rs. 756 million), Fabrics (Rs. 624 million), Electronic Goods (Rs. 604 million), Gutka (Rs. 325 million), Diesel (Rs. 211 million) and Tyres (Rs. 157 million). Mr. Faiz Ahmad Chadhar, the Director General of Customs Intelligence, has commended the efforts of Customs Intelligence teams in Karachi, Lahore, Gwadar, Multan, Quetta, Peshawar, Hyderabad, and Rawalpindi. He acknowledged that despite limited resources in terms of manpower and logistics, Customs Intelligence is effectively working towards eradicating the menace of smuggling.