Abbottabad Regional Tax Office’s (RTO) team has seized a huge cache of non-duty paid illegal cigarettes during raids in Abbottabad and Mansehra.
The raids were conducted on a tip received by the RTO Officer In-charge Intelligence (Investigation & Prosecution Cell) Fazal Malik regarding the open sale of non-duty paid, smuggled and illegal cigarettes in different markets of Abbottabad. On which the RTO constituted a raiding team headed by Afzal Malik.
The team conducted raids on Asif Pan Store on Kacheri Road, Shaheen Chemist, Ali Store, and seized a huge cache of both smuggled foreign brands and locally illegally manufactured cigarettes. On finding the raiding team, the proprietors of the stores managed their escape well.
Earlier, raids were also conducted on Hazara Mall and Mansehra Mall in Mansehra city and a huge number of smuggled cigarettes were confiscated. On contact, Chief Commissioner Mahmood Aslam confirmed the raids and the confiscation of the huge cache of smuggled and non-duty paid cigarettes in different raids.
He vowed to curb the use of smuggled and non-duty paid cigarettes, saying that Hazara Division has no space for the sellers of the smuggled cigarettes. He warned that those who were involved in the business of illegal cigarettes should stop their business forthwith, otherwise stern action would be taken against them.
To a question regarding the volume of the seized smuggled and non-duty paid cigarettes, the chief commissioner said that the counting of the contraband is in progress. However, he said that it is filled in thousands of sacks and cartons. Though, he gave an estimate that the smuggled and non-duty paid cigarettes seized from Hazara Mall and Mansehra Mall in Mansehra city is around 4 million to 6 million sticks of cigarettes.
