KARACHI, Jan 25: The Preventive Collectorate of the Customs burned about 53 tons of narcotics, in the presence officials of various agencies working against the drug menace, diplomats and journalists, here at Paradise Point on Friday.

Mehboob Saqib, collector preventive custom, informed that the programme had been arranged on the occasion of the International Custom Day falling on Jan 26. More than 44 tons of charas and about 618 kgs of heroin along with some seven tons of charas seized by the customs intelligence were burned.

He said this was the major chunk of drugs seized by the customs that had accumulated over the past 15 years, but most of the seized drugs were not destroyed since court cases and legal matters regarding them had not been settled.

The US Consul-General, John Bauman, acknowledged that drug-yielding crops were not grown in Pakistan and most of the drugs arriving here were from Afghanistan.

He stressed the need for close coordination between various agencies involved in curbing the drug menace and informed about the US initiative in this regard, including grant of $73 million to the Pakistan Coast Guards in the form of helicopters, vehicles and latest communications system.

The DG Custom Intelligence, Maj-Gen Usman Shah (retd), said his department was facing an acute shortage of highly-skilled manpower. — PPI