FAISALABAD, April 15: The financial scam of the Customs dryport laboratory took a new turn when the investigators found senior officials involved in patronizing the main suspect , and committing other irregularities.

Sources told Dawn on Thursday that investigation team, headed by CBR's Member Central Excise Muhammad Naseer, had learnt that the testing laboratory's affairs were being run by the senior officials for their personal gains.

They also observed, according to the sources, that various amounts were charged in the name of examination fee for the exports. The amounts were deposited with the Laboratory Welfare Fund.

They said former Customs collector Umer Farooq had established a testing laboratory at the dryport and deputed some staff of the Customs department, including Upper Divisional Clerk Muhammad Asif, to receive fee from the exporters to issue them clearance certificates.

They said the former collector had notified that the LWF would be spent on the welfare of the Customs employees and better facilities at the laboratory. However, they said, the new collector had transferred the entire amount of the LWF to another account called Common Pool Fund on the pretext that laboratory charges could not be deposited in separate accounts.

The CPF account, they said, was also being operated under the direct command of the collector, who could utilize the amount for any purpose. The inquiry officer also found that the recovery through the LWF or the CPF was illegal, as only the share amount from the proceeds of auction of confiscated goods be deposited in the CPF.

The Public Accounts Committee also had taken notice of the irregularities and directed all the Principal Accounting Officers (PAOs) that no part of proceeds from sales of confiscated goods went to the common pool or other fund. The government dues, they said, should go in the Federal Consolidated Fund.

The sources said the mysterious disappearance of Asif was a conspiracy hatched by his relatives and the senior Customs officials to conceal their crime. Asif had been shifted to some unknown place so that he could not record his statement before inquiry officers, they added.