The Collectorate of Customs, Sales Tax and Excise, Quetta, busted a gang selling smuggled Pakistan Oilfields Limited (POL) products on fake invoices.
According to a press release issued by the Collectorate, information was received that some petrol pumps were selling smuggled POL in the garb of products supplied by the local oil marketing companies.
The Quetta Customs alerted its ground and mobile units to check the POL products being transported from Quetta to the interior cities in oil tankers, and to verify their documents, which may include fake papers, purported to be issued by local oil companies.
The staff of the Collectorate succeeded in intercepting an oil tanker bearing registration no. QA-7968 heading for Mach from Quetta filled with 10,000 litres of High-Speed Diesel (HSD) oil.
On demand, the drivers of the oil tanker produced PSO invoices, which on verification from M/S PSO was confirmed fake. The oil tanker along with HSD oil was seized under the relevant provisions of the Customs Act, 1969.
FIR is being lodged and investigation is underway to smash the smuggling network of the racketeers.
This is for the first time that the smuggled POL products had been intercepted, while being transported to the interior on fake documents.
The modus operandi had been adopted by the smugglers to facilitate the movement of smuggled goods under the garb of POL products, distributed locally by Pakistani and multinational oil marketing companies in the country.