Customs foils bid to smuggle gold, iPhones at Lahore airport

LAHORE: Customs apprehended an individual at Lahore airport attempting to smuggle gold and iPhones, ARY News reported.

According to the details, a man named Asif Shahzad, arriving from Dubai on the private airline PA-417, was arrested for trying to smuggle over 1.628 kg of gold, six diamond sets, and five iPhones.

Customs officials indicated that the suspect concealed gold within his clothing.

Authorities have filed a case against him under the customs act, officials noted.

Earlier in September, the customs officials thwarted a money laundering attempt at Jinnah International Airport, Karachi and arrested a passenger.

As per the customs spokesperson, on the basis of suspicion the staff stopped a passenger bound to board an international flight from Karachi airport to Doha.

During the deep inspection of the luggage, the customs officials recovered a total of $20,000 US in cash.

After confiscated the currency, the officials registered a First Information Report (FIR) against the Doha-bound passenger to investigate and identify the real culprits behind the money laundering attempt.

During same month, a similar attempt of money laundering reported when Customs authorities successfully foiled a currency smuggling attempt at Karachi Airport and recovered the foreign currency worth millions.

As per the details, the passenger identified as Moster Uddin, was about to board an international flight FZ-336 when he was stopped at the common counter.

Upon inspection, customs officials discovered the concealed currency hidden at the bottom of the passenger’s bag, specifically in a secret compartment containing 30 bundles of 500 Indian Rupee notes.

The customs officials further inspected the items of the passenger and recovered a total of Rs 1.4 million Indian Rupees and 16,000 Bangladeshi Taka from the possession of the passenger.

Customs sources have also indicated that the Indian currency is suspected to be counterfeit.