LAHORE, Dec 27: Lahore Customs Collectorate's Anti-Smuggling and Drug Enforcement Cell has seized contraband goods, including narcotics, worth Rs99.6 million (customs and freight value) in the first five months of 2010 as compared to items worth Rs89.8m seized in the same period of 2009. Up to 119 cases were registered in the first five months of current fiscal against 67 cases registered in the corresponding period.

During the period, seven smugglers were arrested as compared to 17 detentions in the same period of 2009.

Official statistics reveal that as many as 97 vehicles worth Rs92.4m, tyres and tubes worth Rs966,400, miscellaneous goods worth Rs875,000, cloth worth Rs3.8m, auto parts worth Rs550,000 and mobile oil worth Rs700,000 were seized in the first five months of 2010.

As many as 34 vehicles worth Rs27.2m, foreign tyres worth Rs3m, cloth worth Rs19.015m, miscellaneous goods worth Rs6.148m, foreign and local cigarettes worth Rs625,000 and other items, including dry fruit, black tea, spare parts, electronic goods, Khopra, re-rollable steel, firecrackers, soaps and shampoos, silk yarn, tape, body sprays, dry-battery cells and auto parts worth hundreds of thousands were seized in the first five months of 2009.

Customs authorities seized total 5.22kg heroin worth Rs1.45m during the period. Similarly, up to 2.27kg heroin worth Rs454,000 and 18.34kg charas worth Rs5.5m was seized in the corresponding period of 2009.

A Customs official told Dawn the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) had recently decided to frame new rules to curb smuggling under the recently signed Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA) between Islamabad and Kabul.

For this purpose, he said, the FBR would study transit trade rules in the neighbouring countries so that continuous rise in smuggling might be curbed.

Pakistani importers and exporters have been complaining of influx of large quantities of different smuggled items into the country. They have also been alleging smugglers' connivance with Customs officials resulting in billions of rupees losses to the national kitty.

According to experts, Pakistan is losing more than $2 billion dollars in tax revenue every year due to smuggling.

Another Customs official said the seized vehicles and other goods were usually auctioned at lower prices to attract buyers but their market value was calculated according to the Customs and freight value.

He said the goods seized by the teams of Lahore collectorate registered increase every year because of swelling volume of smuggling of China-made goods.