KARACHI: The Collectorate of Customs Enforcement (CCE), Karachi has recovered a luxury ‘Bentley Mulsanne,’ a vehicle stolen from London, from Defense Phase 2 on Saturday acting on a tip of UK Intelligence Agency.
Pakistan Customs conducted the raid on the information provided by a UK intelligence agency. During the raid, the officials also seized foreign-made weapons, passports and three more vehicles whose taxes have not been paid. Two accused – Jamil Shafi and Naveed Bilwani – were taken into custody.
The British Intelligence Agency sent a certified notification to the Karachi Customs that a gray Bentley Mulsanne, V8 Automatic, VIN No. SCBBA63Y7FC001375, Engine No. CKB304693, which was stolen from London, is parked in DHA Phase 2 Karachi, the documents revealed.
Acting upon the UK Intel’s tip, the department found the stolen vehicle. During the initial inquiry, the proclaimed owner of the car, Jamil Shafi, revealed that the car was sold to him by Naveed Balwani, who was responsible for clearing all the required documents from the relevant authorities. As per the information, the department has also arrested the aforementioned person, who introduced himself as a broker, and revealed the name of the main criminal, Navid Yasmin, who is still at large.
During the course of investigation, it is revealed that Navid Balwani made a deal between Jamil Shafi and Navid Yamin, and Navid Yamin collected money from Jamil Shafi for the sale of the car.
When the Customs Department tried to verify the vehicle on the Excise and Taxation website, and it was revealed that the seized vehicle was registered illegally.
It should be noted that for the registration of the vehicle, it is necessary to have the permission of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Customs Court, and the documents for the payment of duties and taxes. The staff of Excise and Taxation, according to the documents, registered the vehicle illegally and caused the exchequers a loss of Rs30 crores.
Customs officials said that the Sindh Excise and Taxation Department registered the stolen vehicle without fulfilling the legal requirements, which suggests complicity of the Sindh Excise officers in the crime.
