Customs’ officials seize several sacks of hazardous Chinese salt

KARACHI: The customs team on Wednesday raided a house in Karachi and seized goods worth millions of rupees, ARY News reported.

The raid was conducted on a tip-off. The team found hazardous Chinese salt ‘Ajinomoto’ in large quantity along with other items.

The customs’ officials seized 1500 bags of salt. The court had already banned selling and consumption of this salt. Deputy collector Customs Muhammad Faisal said three persons had been arrested in this connection.

Read: Chinese salt banned in Pakistan over ‘health hazards’

Meanwhile, in another raid at Hazara Express’s bogey was conducted by the customs’ team in which several smuggled wrist watches and spectacles were recovered.

The officials said the watches and sun-glasses were fake and being smuggled through a train. He said the seized items worth around Rs 2.4 million.

In March 2018, then chief justice of Pakistan Justice Mian Saqib Nisar had ordered ban on sale of the Chinese salt.

The CJP was hearing a suo motu case pertaining to the sale of Ajinomoto or Chinese salt and used cooking oil in the country. He said the sale of Ajinomoto could not be allowed in view of its health hazards.

In January last year, the Punjab Food Authority (PFA) had banned Ajinomoto after the authority’s scientific panel found it hazardous for health.