Islamabad: A sub-committee of the Senate Standing Committee on Interior and Narcotics Control convened under the leadership of Senator Saifullah Abro to discuss the theft of 2,828 cartons of cigarettes from Federal Board of Revenue warehouses in Swabi and Mardan. The meeting, attended by Senator Muhammad Talha Mahmood, highlighted a series of administrative lapses in warehouse management and called for a thorough investigation.

According to Senate of Pakistan, the theft, valued at approximately Rs. 250 million, has been referred to the Federal Investigation Agency by the Regional Police Headquarters through the Ministry of Interior. The FIA briefed the committee on the administrative oversights, including the lack of a designated warehouse officer, absence of a logbook or stock register, and no CCTV coverage or standard operating procedures for moving seized items. The inquiry is ongoing, with several officers’ statements already recorded.

The sub-committee directed enhanced coordination between the FBR, FIA, and Regional Police to expedite the investigation. Geofencing of the incident was also requested to identify those involved in the theft. Senator Talha Mahmood advocated for accountability among senior officers if implicated and called for a review of the warehouse staff’s assets and any potential industrial beneficiaries.

Further discussions involved the Regional Tax Office Peshawar, which reported on cigarette manufacturing machinery valued over Rs. 1 billion, used for illegal production when seized. The sub-committee also addressed the confiscation of over half a ton of gold by Pakistan Customs since 2011, which is processed by the State Bank of Pakistan. Customs officials clarified that confiscated items are classified for auction or destruction, with certain commodities like cigarettes deemed destroyable due to their illicit nature.

The committee ordered Pakistan Customs to provide a detailed account of all confiscated items, including precious metals and narcotics, since 2012, within ten days.