KARACHI: Pakistan Customs on Friday claimed to have foiled a bid to smuggle goods worth nearly Rs 284 million in Karachi. According to Pakistan Customs, the officials took action after the Karachi Model Custom Collectorate (Preventive) received information that some reputable importers were involved in misuse of Pakistan Custom’s ‘green channel’ under ‘WeBOC system’ and were clearing their goods with grossly misdeclared descriptions. “In wake of the information and on the directives of the South Karachi Customs (Enforcement) Chief Collector, Karachi Customs Collector (Preventive) constituted a team to thwart such attempts,” Customs Collector Dr Iftikhar Ahmed said while speaking at a press conference, accompanied by additional collector Amir Thahim and deputy collector Muhammad Faisal Khan. “The team successfully intercepted a 40 feet container loaded on a trawler near mobile market in the Saddar neighbourhood”, he said. The officer said on-the-spot questioning confirmed the information that huge quantity of mobile phones in the container were brought into the country without payment of due duties and taxes, adding that in absence of any proof of legal import thereof, the container, was escorted to Anti-Smuggling headquarters for further investigation and stocktaking. He said that huge quantity of goods worth Rs 284 million were seized which included Q-Mobile phones worth Rs136,000,000, assorted mobile phones worth nearly Rs 143,160,000, and 531 Amazon tablets worth Rs 5,310,000. The officer said that preliminary investigation revealed that the goods, imported by Digicom Trading Private Limited, were misdeclared as LED bulbs and were cleared through the system under Pakistan Custom’s green channel. Published in Daily Times, November 4th 2017.