Business Recorder
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Customs has intensified anti-smuggling operations across the country, seizing smuggled goods worth Rs3.718 billion during the past two weeks under a nationwide crackdown launched on the directives of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). According to details shared by the Office of the Chief Collector Customs (Enforcement) Islamabad with the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Wednesday, the seizures were made by nine Customs Enforcement Collectorates. Gadani recorded the highest seizures worth Rs853 million, followed by Sargodha with Rs700 million and Quetta with Rs693 million. Resultantly, the legal import of the smuggling-prone items has been increased during July-April (2025-26), showing a net increase of Rs 59 billion. The legal import of electronics has increased 110 percent; toiletries and cosmetics, 89 percent; fabrics, 56 percent; vehicles, 55 percent; and tyres, 45 percent during July-April (2025-26). Among the major operations, Customs Enforcement in Gadani intercepted six fishing boats carrying 201,000 litres of smuggled Iranian-origin high-speed diesel. Authorities later recovered an additional 158,000 litres from coastal dumping sites. The total value of the case was estimated at Rs357 million. In another significant operation, Customs Enforcement in Multan seized goods worth Rs205 million after intercepting a vehicle transporting 3,900 kilograms of acetate tow, a material used in cigarette filter manufacturing. Meanwhile, authorities in Bhakkar confiscated contraband worth Rs96 million that had been concealed beneath an onion cargo in a truck. Pakistan Customs said smugglers are increasingly resorting to sophisticated methods, including hidden cavities in buses, courier consignments, cash vans, and luxury vehicles, to evade detection. The department reaffirmed its commitment to dismantling smuggling networks and protecting the national economy through sustained enforcement actions. Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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