KARACHI: The Customs department claimed on Tuesday to have seized a huge quantity of urea betel nuts during actions in Quetta, ARY News reported.
A spokesperson for the department relayed that 300 bags of urea and sweet supari (betel nuts) worth Rs60 million were seized during a search of container and trailer at the Lakpas Chckpost of Customs in Quetta.
A case has been registered against the drivers, while vehicles have been impounded, the Customs spokesperson said.
Earlier, on Sept 7, last year, the Customs Department had said a crackdown against smuggled betel nuts by the Anti-Smuggling Organization (ASO) of the Collectorate of Customs Enforcement confiscated over Rs 130 million worth of the condiment during the last 30 days.
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According to details ASO shared, a loaded trolley carried 33,950 kilograms of betel nuts, smuggled into Pakistan, and was intercepted near Metroville, SITE Area on September 02, 2021. The total amount as per current market rates is Rs57.24 million.
Preceding this was a bid on August 23 wherein about 4,500 kilograms of betel nuts were recovered from an Afghan export cargo wherein the smuggler hid them under the layer of apricots. The seizure amounts to Rs25.15 million.
