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The surge in excise duty in February 2023 has led to an exponential increase in smuggled and counterfeit cigarettes. photo: reuTERS
ISLAMABAD:
A sub-committee of the Senate Standing Committee on Interior on Thursday discussed the theft of 2,828 cartons of cigarettes from a warehouse of the FBR.
The meeting, chaired by Senator Saifullah Abro, received a briefing from officials of the FIA and the FBR regarding the incident.
FIA officials informed the committee that drivers entering and leaving the warehouse are normally issued passes. They said statements of officers whose names surfaced during the investigation had been recorded.
Officials further said that on the day the cigarettes were moved, no pass had been issued to the driver. They added that the shift in-charge was also absent during the transfer of the goods and no record was registered.
FIA officials told the committee that no CCTV footage of the incident was available.
FBR officials stated that the department had rented the warehouse and there were no surveillance cameras installed at the facility.
“We had verbally informed all officers about the SOPs,” the FBR officials said.
