KARACHI: MCC Peshawar (dry-port) has lodged an FIR against unidentified culprits for clandestine and illegal removal of goods off transshipment consignments.
It may be mentioned here that a day earlier Customs Intelligence Peshawar inspected six containers lying at Peshawar dry port since June.
Upon inspection, four containers were found to be stuffed with mud sacks while the goods of other two containers had also been replaced.
It may be mentioned here that these containers were lying at KICT since January, 2015, afterwards the transshipment of these containers was allowed in June 2015 by MCC Appraisement West.
It may be mentioned here that Section 81 of Customs Act, 1969 provides that any unclaimed goods lying at the port for over a month shall be auctioned.
Moreover, the shipping company did not raise an concern that its containers were missing for around nine months, which proves their uneven intentions.
According to details, Director General Customs Intelligence Lutfullah Virk had approached Chief Collector Sarwat Tahira Habib for the joint examination of the above mentioned six containers.
Customnews.pk has known that these containers were imported by five different importers including M/s Bloomy Sports, M/s Nadeem Trading Company, M/s Heaven Enterprises, M/s Dong Woo Enterprises and M/s RN Trading Company.
M/s Saif-ur-Rehman & Brothers Pvt Ltd was the bonded carrier that transported these containers to Peshawar Dry Port.
Deputy Collector Junaid and Superintendent Nazim have been assigned initial investigation of the case.
This instance case is the part of larger campaign, Customs Intelligence & Investigation has initiated against pilferage of transshipment cargo, which has caused huge loss to the economy.
Director Intelligence Peshawar Asghar Khan, Additional Director Ziaullah Shams and Deputy Director Khayal Mohammad are leading this campaign and over a 100 containers have been detected which were pilfered enroute.
In this regard, Customs Intelligence Peshawar Team contacted Dubai Customs as most of these containers were routing through Dubai. Dubai Customs confirmed that several containers were declared to be containing different goods in the EGM filed by shipping company at Dubai than that mentioned in the IGM filed at Karachi.
The importers in connivance with shipping lines tempered the documents declaring the goods to be such attracting very low rate of duty and taxes such as juices and beverages etc.
The importers then transshipment (TPs) to dry ports throughout the country and the original high value goods were pilfered enroute and the low value goods as declared in the tempered documents were matched, thus inflicting a huge loss to the national exchequer.
Sources in Karachi informed that importers, shipping companies, bonded carriers and Customs officers/officials were all part of this chain. The involvement of I&I ASO Karachi is also suspected.
Reliable sources have claimed that I&I ASO in June found importer Rahim and Docks Pvt Limited bonded carrier while they were replacing the goods (electronics) of a bonded consignment at a warehouse in Sher Shah Karachi, but the officials ignored the incidence for obvious reasons.