KARACHI: Pakistan Customs in a joint action with Afghanistan customs has foiled an attempt to smuggle six metric tonnes of iodine which it said is commonly used for production of drugs, a statement on Thursday said.

It said that the Port Control Unit Headquarters of Model Collectorate of Customs Preventive has conducted the joint operation with Afghanistan customs authorities. It said credible information was received in the collectorate that a consignment being shipped from UAE and destined for Afghanistan was suspected to contain contraband goods.

“Pakistan Customs conducted risk analysis and found it high risk shipment,” it said. “Since the goods were bound for Afghanistan, under Transit Trade Agreement the intelligence was shared with the Afghan Authorities as well as US Drug Enforcement Administration (USDEA) and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The enroute movement was closely monitored from Karachi to Torkham by Pakistan Customs to avoid any enroute pilferage.”

On September 14, acting upon the intelligence shared by Pakistan Customs, the UNODC and USDEA agents in Afghanistan conducted a joint operation inside Afghanistan and seized six metric tonnes of iodine. The International Narcotics Board has estimated that the seized iodine could have potentially produced 4.5 metric tonnes of synthetic drug namely methamphetamine, which according to UNODC survey report has an international market value of Rs91.67 billion.

“This unprecedented operation has successfully averted the illicit movement of 546 Million US Dollars from going into the hands of criminal syndicates. The seizure has immense international impact and shows Pakistan’s commitment with the charter of FATF,” added the statement.

Published in Dawn, September 18th, 2020