SUKKUR, Dec 6: Arms, ammunition and explosives in a big quantity were seized during a routine checking of vehicles at the entry point of Ghotki district on Thursday.

The seized cache included six suicide jackets, 39 launchers, a rocket, three Kalashnikov rifles, 62 hand-grenades, detonators, a pistol, three rolls of wire etc hidden in different sections of the vehicle.

Officials of the excise and taxation department said that the arms and explosives were destined for Karachi.

E&T Ghotki officer Ishaque Jatoi said that a vigilance team led by inspectors Zulfiqar Shaikh and Younus Dhondo intercepted a truck bearing registration number PKD-584 and carried out a through search of the vehicle. The search ended up in the discovery of the arms, ammunition and explosives, he said, adding that the truck was coming from Waziristan.

The bomb disposal squad in Sukkur was rushed to the scene to help the excise personnel safely remove the explosives.

The truck driver, Ghulam Hyder Pathan, and the cleaner, Riaz Hussain Pathan, have been taken into custody.

They told the excise police that they hailed from the Amma Khel area of Dera Ismail Khan district. They said that they undertook transportation of the consignment without knowing about the goods. It was handed over to them by a man, Mir Alam Khan.

It is learnt that the consignment also included 40 kilos of fine quality hashish worth millions of rupees in the international market.

Excise officials said further investigation was under way and that they were likely to lodge an FIR of the haul under the Anti-Terrorism Act.