New Delhi: Karachi’s customs department has seized a luxury Bentley Mulsanne, which was smuggled from London, UK, in a posh residential locality Saturday. The department had received information about the stolen vehicle from the UK National Crime Agency, which traced the vehicle using the tracking device fitted in it to a bungalow in the Defense Housing Authority area.
Media reports said the people involved in ‘smuggling’ the $300,000 car into Pakistan by using the documents of a ‘top diplomat of an east European country’.
The incident has put the Sindh Excise and Taxation department in hot water because, according to local reports, it had registered the stolen vehicle without satisfying all legal formalities.
Sources in the Collectorate of Customs Enforcement (CCE), Karachi told Pakistani daily Business Recorder that the registration of such an expensive vehicle required sale permission from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a no-objection certificate from Pakistan Customs, and the receipt of the payment of duty and taxes.
According to a photo of the FIR filed by customs officials, shared by journalist Omar R Quraishi, two people have been arrested in the case and one is absconding. It also mentioned that approximately Rs 300 million was evaded due to the smuggling of the stolen vehicle.
Custom authorities in Pakistan have seized a Bentley from a house in Karachi – customs officials say it was stolen from London – its value has been assessed at Rs 58 million and Rs 307 million in duties and taxes were due on it pic.twitter.com/8hQnyrTYDM
— omar r quraishi (@omar_quraishi) September 3, 2022
The owner of the vehicle, Jameel Shafi as mentioned in the FIR, told authorities that the vehicle was sold to him by another person, the ‘broker’ who allegedly handled all required documentation. The “main culprit” is currently absconding, according to local reports.
In a similarly bizarre case, a 34-year-old man had in 2017 falsely reported that his £55,000 Bentley Mulsanne had been stolen from Edinburgh, UK. He was later charged with fraud after it was revealed that he had shipped the car to Pakistan.
The latest incident, which appeared to some as a “security breach” and a case of “corruption” that reflected poorly on Pakistan’s global image, comes at a time when the rest of the country is battling devastating floods.
Suspicions about how vehicle was transported from UK
A video of customs authorities recovering the vehicle from inside a Karachi bungalow has gone viral on social media, with nearly one lakh views online, and prompted questions about how the large sedan was transported from the UK.
Custom raided a house in DHA Karachi to recover Bentley which was allegedly stolen from London. pic.twitter.com/xoXvQIgiNO
— Usama Qureshi (@UsamaQureshy) September 3, 2022
“How it was exported in first place from UK?” asked social activist Mian Khurram Shahzad, tagging the British High Commissioner to Pakistan, Christian Turner.
▪︎Pakistan Custom raided a house in #DHA Karachi to recover Bentley which was allegedly stolen from London. @Pak_Customs
How it was exported in first place from UK as they have to answar it @CTurnerFCDO#mksw85official @BentleyMotors @metpoliceuk #stolen #Car #PakistanCustom pic.twitter.com/GE5GYBzyDG
— Mian Khurram Shahzad 🇵🇰 (@mksw85official) September 3, 2022
“Imagine the scale of the racket to smuggle a car stolen from UK to Karachi. Smuggling Bentley across three continents is no joke,” said another social media user.
Imagine the scale of the racket to smuggle a car stolen from UK to Karachi. Smuggling Bentley across three continents is no joke. https://t.co/VBQ1a2Y4XZ
— IB (@Imran_Bukharey) September 3, 2022
One journalist said it has “raised serious questions on the performance of the country’s different agencies”.
#Pakistan Collectorate of Customs Enforcement Karachi has recovered a highly expensive vehicle Bentley Mulsanne,’which was stolen from London on the information given by the UK intelligence agency has raised serious questions on the performance of the country’s different agencies pic.twitter.com/uIBrq4KuGk
— Ghulam Abbas Shah (@ghulamabbasshah) September 3, 2022