Customs seizes hoarded tea worth Rs1.6bln in Karachi warehouse

KARACHI: Pakistan Customs made a significant breakthrough in Karachi by uncovering a vast quantity of black tea being illegally hoarded.

Sources revealed that Customs officials conducted a raid at a warehouse in Hawkes Bay, where they discovered 530 tons of black tea stored without proper authorization.

Authorities estimate the value of the seized tea to be around Rs1.6 billion. The operation was initiated after Customs intelligence received a tip-off regarding a consignment of 14 tons of tea that had been cleared by the Port Qasim collectorate. Subsequent investigation revealed that the subsidized tea, intended for transport to Kashmir, had been diverted to Abdullah Warehouse in Hawkes Bay.

Prompt action by the intelligence team led to the recovery of the hoarded tea in the warehouse.

It is suspected that nearly 3,000 tons of tea have been illegally sold in Karachi without proper tax payment, resulting in substantial losses to the national exchequer.

Tea holds significant importance as one of Pakistan's major imports, with the country importing $336.423 million worth of tea in the previous year alone.