LAHORE: A joint meeting of collectors of Customs central region and Directorate of Investigation and Intelligence was held on Monday in order to curb smuggling activities.
The meeting discussed ordinations with the law enforcement agencies and present infrastructure available with the Customs Department. The meeting was chaired by Director General Investigation and Intelligence (Customs) and collectors of the region including Lahore Preventive Mukarram Jah Ansari, MCC Multan Collector Sarfraz Waraich, MCC Faisalabad Collector Toseef Qureshi, Director Customs Investigation and Intelligence Lahore Imtiaz Ahmad Khan, Additional Director of Investigation and Intelligence Mohsin Rafique attended the meeting.
Lutfullah Virk urged the collectors of Customs central region to arrest nominated and record holder smugglers and increase liaison with Motorways and Highways authorities along with law enforcement agencies like rangers and police to curb the menace of smuggling. The collectors were informed that 25 major smugglers are giving tough time to Customs authorities and they must be arrested in order to make country smuggling free. The director general also expressed his concerns about the looming smuggling activities which are making inroads into the region.
The director general and collectors also discussed other issues including shortage of storage capacity for the seized and contraband goods and articles. Collector of Customs Preventive Lahore Mukarram Jah Ansari told Customs Today that DG I&I Lutfullah Virk discussed present situation of smuggling related hazards, measures to be taken against smuggling and present and future planning to curb smuggling with collectors.