QUETTA: Customs officials seized a truck carrying illegal items near its Yaro check-post in Pishin district on Friday.

A spokesperson said that when customs personnel manning the post waved the truck to stop, the driver tried to escape. However, customs personnel foiled his attempt by bursting the tyres.

During a search of the truck they found betel nuts, tea and other items being smuggled from Afghanistan.

Earlier another vehicle was searched and 1,600 non-registered mobile phones were seized. Their value was estimated to be more than Rs17 million.

Recently, Quetta customs raided the warehouses of suspected smugglers in the Sariab area and seized a large quantity of illegal items, machinery and fake documents. The deputy collector of customs, Abdul Qudoos Sheikh, was attacked by armed men on his way back to Quetta on July 5. He died four days after the incident.

Published in Dawn, July 21st, 2019