The alleged mastermind of the biggest containers scam, Naeem Qureshi, who was detained in Karachi Central Jail for over six months on charge of evading Rs 1.40 billion in taxes, has been shifted to Lahore for further investigation.
Sources in the Directorate General of Intelligence and Investigation (DGI&I), FBR, Karachi, told Business Recorder on Saturday that the government of Punjab had sent a letter to Sindh government requesting to give custody of Qureshi to Punjab government. They said that Qureshi was accused in several cases established at different cities including Lahore, Faisalabad and Peshawar.
They said that DGI&I had established a case of importing some 181 containers from China between October 2006 and July 2007 and got these cleared without any physical examination under fake Goods Declarations (GDs), in which investigation was underway.
Qureshi is also wanted in several fake transhipment cases established at Lahore, Faisalabad and Peshawar. Hence he has been shifted to Lahore aimed to dig out further information regarding containers scam, sources added. They said that accused Naeem was arrested by the DGI&I with his accomplice Abdur Razzaq, and added that investigation so far had unveiled that all import documents and GDs, which were used in the clearance of the consignments, were bogus.
According to import documents and GDs, electronic goods, cosmetic items and leather goods were imported from China in these containers, which were not physically examined by the Model Customs Collectorate (MCC) staff. The Directorate is utilising all channels to ascertain the value of goods for evaluating the evaded taxes and duties through these consignments.