Use of diplomatic channels for liquor smuggling in Pakistan

Karachi, Oct 25 (IANS) Pakistan's Directorate of Intelligence and Investigation (DI&I)-Customs, Karachi, has confiscated over 2000 bottles of liquor worth about Rs 2 crore smuggled in as diplomatic cargo, a report said here on Friday.

According to Pakistan media reports, the Directorate, on the basis of credible information that revealed the modus operandi of smuggling liquor in diplomatic cargo, blocked a number of such consignments imported for the Syrian, Indonesian, Algerian and Lebanon embassies after getting clearance from Model Customs Collectors.

Irfan Javed, the director of DI&I, has sent a report to his Director General, which said that 1,584 liquor bottles, imported for smuggling were seized from the cargo for Algerian Embassy in Islamabad on Thursday.

Similarly, 480 bottles meant for the Lebanon Embassy have also been seized.

The report said that alcohol bottles were recovered from the diplomatic cargos, which were declared as food stuff.

Alcohol sales are prohibited in Pakistan since the 1970s, and now there is a thriving black market to meet the huge demand.