The Pakistan Customs have busted gangs involved in the smuggling of currencies, seizing a huge consignment of Pakistani rupee that was being transported from China. A high-level enquiry has been ordered into the illegal movement of currencies across the border with China.

“The Customs made the seizure and it is conducting a high-level inquiry,” confirmed Mehmood Alam, the spokesman for the Federal Board of Revenue.Earlier, Customs sources told this correspondent that the first consignment of Pakistani rupee, which was seized at the Sost Post at the Pak-China border in the Northern Areas, was of more than Rs 100 million. However, the FBR confirmed only Rs 10 million.

The Customs authorities at Sost initially believed that fake Pakistani rupee, manufactured in China, was being transported into Pakistan. However, investigations revealed that the currency was not fake.

Though, the FBR did not confirm more seizures of such consignments, Customs sources in Gilgit said the consignment intercepted on October 16 was neither the first nor the last.“The smuggling of foreign currencies from Pakistan is on to all the neighbouring countries. Perhaps China is more attractive for smugglers, as gangs in China pay more than those in other countries for buying these currencies,” said a source.

He added that the FBR could only have the information that was fed to it from the operational quarters on the border. “The Rangers, Scouts, FC and other forces are in addition to the Customs that are intercepting such consignments,” he said.

Some officials even believe that government functionaries who are deployed to prevent such smuggling might be involved in it.The FBR spokesman said: “There is going to be no delay in these investigations. The government has appointed the additional collector headquarters to supervise the investigations.”All this is happening at a time when the reserves are depleting fast and the international rating agencies are steadily down-grading Pakistan’s capacity to sustain pressures.