KARACHI: In a significant crackdown on illegal drug trafficking, Karachi’s Collectorate of Customs Enforcement seized a massive quantity of smuggled Tramadol tablets during a late-night raid in the Korangi Industrial Area. The operation, conducted on the night of February 20, uncovered millions of Tramadol HCL tablets of Indian origin, raising concerns about the illegal drug trade’s scale in the region.
Information was passed through Chief Collector Basit Maqbool Abbasi to Collector Moinuddin Wani regarding smuggled goods.
Additional Collector Basit Hussein formed a team led by Deputy Collector Raza Naqvi.
The Anti-Smuggling Organization (ASO) of the Collectorate swiftly mobilized a team comprising Assistant Collector Bisma Noor.
The team, including Superintendent Muhammad Habib Mayo, and Preventive Officers Ali Raza, Ali Hasnain, and Mahar Usman, conducted the raid at Plot No. 240, Sector 24, Korangi Industrial Area.
The team invoked Section 163 of the Customs Act, 1969, which allows immediate search and seizure without a warrant under specific circumstances. Entering the premises at midnight, they discovered a substantial quantity of Tramadol HCL tablets, an opioid analgesic, bearing Indian brand names.
The godown’s security guard, Ghulam Nazik, revealed the ownership belonged to Marvi Pharmaceuticals and IBL Pharmaceuticals, both owned by Muhammad Younus and managed by his sons. Directors Nizar Ali Fazwani and Samina Fazwani were also identified.
In a startling discovery, the raiding team found two cartons labeled “Manufactured in India,” meant for Pakistan’s Ministry of Health Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI). Instead of vaccines, the cartons contained Tramadol tablets, raising questions about the supply chain’s integrity.
The recovered Tramadol was transported to the CFP Bond Maripur in Karachi for further examination. A detailed inventory revealed 21,794 million tablets and 7,000 capsules. Representative samples sent to the Central Drug Laboratory confirmed the seized goods were Tramadol HCL.
With no legal documents provided by the owners, the goods were seized under Section 168 of the Customs Act, 1969. A notice was issued to the claimant/owner and prominently displayed at the Custom House and ASOHO NMR Wharf in Karachi.
A First Information Report (FIR) has been lodged, and investigations are underway to uncover the full extent of the smuggling network and the involvement of other individuals and entities.