ABBOTTABAD: Collectorate of Customs anti-smuggling squad of Abbottabad Hazara division 6000 kilograms of Indian origin fresh tomatoes and 6640 kilograms red chilli seeds on Friday.
Assistant Collector Asma Javid Paracha told Customs Today that Indian origin vegetable and fruits are bio security risk due to which strict action have been taken to curb smuggling of Indian origin tomatoes and chilli along other entities.
These fruits are smuggled into Pakistan via Muzaffarabad without payment of duty and taxes causing loss to the exchequer and create distortions in the Pakistani markets. The quarantine department has also detected some bio risks and proposed a complete ban on these products.
Assistant collector said that this was made possible due to strict directives given by Collector Customs Collectorate Mohammed Saeed Jadoon. Customs department has been working gracefully to carry out anti- smuggling drive throughout Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The assistant collector said no step will be leave to mend the ways of smugglers. The ban of vegetables create price hike and instability in the market due to which the genuine trade come under pressure.