A team of Customs Intelligence Directorate of Multan seized 14.4 million smuggled cigarette sticks with the assistance of the DG Khan Police on Wednesday. It is learnt cigarettes were being transported in five trucks and were bound for Multan. These trucks also carried other smuggled items like cloth, tyres and cooling pipe. The main cigarette brands seized from the five trucks included Fisher lights, Oris Blue and Three Star.
According to information, the value of the cigarettes is estimated to be over Rs 35 million. The seizure is said to be one of the biggest in the last few years. As per industry data, billions of illegal cigarettes are sold in Pakistan every year. According to a report, government loses more than Rs 24 billion per annum due to these illicit cigarettes. The recent raid, however, shows that government has stepped up its efforts to curtail this problem. With increased enforcement the share of illicit cigarette trade will decrease and raise tax contribution in the national exchequer providing a level playing field for the tax compliant industry.