By Our Correspondent
LAHORE (November 11, 2025): In one of the historical anti-smuggling operations, the Collectorate of Customs Enforcement Lahore has confiscated massive quantities of cigarette manufacturing raw material valued at over Rs1.5 billion, dealing a major blow to illegal tobacco networks operating in Punjab.
Read also: Lahore Customs Enforcement posts record anti-smuggling success
According to official documents, the seized goods — including acetate tow, cigarette paper, filter rods, aluminum foil, adhesives, and other chemicals — carried a total assessed customs value of Rs1.24 billion and duty and taxes amounting to Rs1.27 billion, bringing the aggregate value to Rs1.518 billion.
The operation was conducted under the supervision of Collector of Customs Enforcement, Mr. Muhammad Saeed Wattoo, and led by Superintendent Rashid Munir along with Assistant Collector Arsalan Mughal.
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Credible intelligence indicated that large consignments of imported cigarette-making materials were being stored illegally in warehouses linked to Daska-based units attempting to evade customs action. Following up on leads from an earlier raid at M/s Ayesha Rice Mills, Daska, the enforcement team carried out back-to-back raids at two storage facilities near Sundar Industrial Estate, Lahore, on October 27, 2025, recovering huge quantities of illicit goods.
The seized inventory includes 31 large boxes of acetate tow weighing 12,500 kilograms, 2,935 cartons of cigarette tipping paper, 1,490 cartons of non-porous cigarette paper, 3,660 bobs of cigarette board/cardboard, 188 cartons of cigarette filter rods, and several drums of chemicals and adhesives imported from China and Germany, used in cigarette production.
Superintendent Rashid Munir’s detailed surveillance work, involving CCTV analysis, gate pass tracing, and mobile data review, was key in uncovering the concealed warehouses and ensuring complete documentation of the seized materials.
Collector Muhammad Saeed Wattoo hailing the key role of Superintendent Rashid Munir’ said the operation was a major milestone in the ongoing national crackdown against smuggling and tax evasion in the tobacco industry, adding that it had “inflicted serious damage on the illicit cigarette manufacturing networks thriving under the cover of legitimate trade.”
He said that Customs Enforcement Lahore remains committed to dismantling the entire chain of illegal cigarette production and distribution, emphasizing that similar raids are already being planned in other regions.
Sources within the department confirmed that the intelligence gathered from this seizure is being used to trace additional warehouses and supply routes linked to the smuggling ring.
