LAYYAH, July 23: On the direction of the chief minister, Punjab Food Minister Nadeem Kamran along with senior officials visited Layyah on Wednesday morning to check wheat smuggling.

Following media reports about wheat smuggling from Layyah to the NWFP through the Indus, Mian Shahbaz Sharif directed the food minister, home secretary Nadeem Hassan Asif, IG Shaukat Javed and director (food) Wasim Mukhtar to visit the district and take steps to check wheat smuggling through boats.

All these officials arrived here by a helicopter and were received by Punjab Agriculture Minister Ahmad Ali Aoulakh along with DCO Javaid Iqbal, DPO Dr Muhammad Azam and district officer (revenue) Qazi Zafar Iqbal.

The visiting team was briefed by the DPO and DG Khan division deputy-director (food) Nasir Mahmood at Circuit House.

The DPO told the team that on the reports of food department, police had registered 12 cases and seized 570 ton wheat being smuggled to the NWFP.

During the meeting, the food minister ordered establishment of three more check posts in riverine belt of Karor tehsil at Warrah Sehrian, Patan Rakhwan and Baet Maitla. He also ordered getting two more motor boats – one from Rajanpur and other from civil defence -- for better police patrolling of the Indus along with the existing one.

Later, the team left Layyah for Mianwali by helicopter after taking aerial view of routes of wheat smuggling through the Indus.