LAHORE: "Directorate of Customs Intelligence and Investigation (I&I) has recovered Indian cosmetic goods worth Rs 322 million and its ancillary items". Director I&I Syed Asad Raza Rizvi said this while addressing a press conference on Monday morning at the Directorate. He said the Directorate had received credible information that huge cache of cosmetic goods and its ancillary imported items are being smuggled across the city, evading huge amount of duty and taxes.

Accordingly, he said, the anti-smuggling squads pursued the vehicle loaded with contraband and smuggled imported goods and nabbed the vehicle near Bhati Chowk (Data Darbar) and recovered the smuggled goods from India. He said the Directorate had also raided a godown situated across the western end of the River Ravi and took over the godown, replete with abundant storage of cosmetics and its related products in enormous quantity after a brief resistance from the inmates of that godown. It was revealed that the godwon is owned by notorious smuggler namely Wahed Ullah, who belongs to Peshawar.

He said the FIR has been registered against Wahed Ullah and further investigation has been initiated to find out abettors of this racket. While pointing out the performance of the Directorate during the outgoing year, he said, the Directorate has collected unprecedented revenue of Rs 5536 million and registered 277 cases throughout the financial year 2020-21. No other Directorate in Pakistan has performed in a way like the Lahore Directorate, he added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021