ByMashhud Aslam
Jul 2, 2026 #Al Hamd International Container Terminal, #export shipments, #Karachi Customs, #M/s Shareef Enterprises, #mislabeled AC shipments, #scrap metal, #seizes, #smuggling probe
KARACHI: Customs Enforcement Karachi stopped four export shipments after discovering that goods declared as scrap metal were actually new and used air conditioners, which were being cleared through green channel, according to sources familiar with the case.
The shipments were filed by M/s Shareef Enterprises and were stopped at the Al Hamd International Container Terminal. Officials suspect the company misrepresented the shipments’ contents to avoid taxes and smuggle prohibited goods out of the country under the Export Facilitation Scheme, sources said.
The four shipments, all dated June 19, were declared as compressor scrap, aluminum condenser scrap, iron and steel scrap, and recoverable copper. Their tracking numbers are KAPW-FS-219800, KAPW-FS-219796, KAPW-FS-219797 and KAPW-FS-219789.
All four had already been cleared by the Customs Appraisement-West Collectorate and were about to leave the terminal when officials intervened based on a tip, sources said. When officers opened the containers, they found mostly lightly used or nearly new window air conditioners, portable air conditioners and dehumidifiers made by Midea in Thailand. Only a small amount of the declared compressor scrap was present.
The company had requested a pre-filing inspection under Section 79(1)(b) of the Customs Act of 1969, and the declarations were routed through the “Yellow Channel.” All four containers were scanned before being transferred at Port Muhammad Bin Qasim, and the scan images remained available in the system throughout the process, sources said.
Two of the declarations were cleared without any request for physical inspection. Assessment officers did request inspections for the other two, but Deputy Collector Aqsa Aslam denied them, citing the company’s history of 587 previous declarations and saying no valid reason had been given for an inspection, according to sources.
Sources said the scan images, visible to both Aslam and the assessment officers, appeared to show a mismatch between the declared goods and the actual cargo. The shipments were cleared anyway.
Additional Deputy Collector Yawar Nawaz approved the pre-filing inspection request in the system, but the company never carried it out, sources said.
Officials are also examining other aspects of the case. This was the company’s first shipment routed through the airport terminal rather than directly through Port Muhammad Bin Qasim, and the switch came shortly after a similar shipment from the company was intercepted at the port, sources said.
Separately, seven containers belonging to a company connected to the importer are sitting at the terminal with no declarations filed. The customs collector has requested permission to examine those containers as possible evidence.
One official called for a closer look at Aslam’s conduct, saying her reputation for transparency “is not sound,” and said the appraising and scanning officers involved should also face scrutiny. The official also raised concerns about Nawaz, saying a preliminary inquiry found he had instructed Aslam by phone to reject an inspection in at least one case.
Sources said Additional Collector Yawar Nawaz had described the importer as having a “clean profile” and suggested skipping inspection, and that Aslam may have been directed by a higher-level official to avoid it altogether.
Sources described wider problems within Pakistan Customs, saying a small group — including a senior Federal Board of Revenue officer and two other high-ranking officials — has effectively controlled the department and played a central role in the Faceless Customs Assessment system, which sources called a costly failure.
In a separate case, Deputy Collector Sara Sarwar at Port Qasim reportedly unblocked a flagged shipment of acetic anhydride without notifying the destination office, an act described as illegal. No action was taken against her, and she is now posted at Karachi Airport. Sources said she acted on instructions from a mid-level officer who was filling a more senior position, and that the same officer protected her afterward.
Sources said the Faceless Customs Assessment system has been run to benefit a small group since its launch. Before the system began, experienced officers were reportedly reassigned to an inactive holding pool, and Customs Intelligence was deactivated, with less experienced officers assigned to the new system instead. More than 70% of shipments were cleared through the “Green Channel,” meaning no inspection or document checks, to make the system appear efficient, sources said. Dozens of shipments that had gone unclaimed for years were also cleared in the system’s first few months.
One official said the Green Channel allows shipments to be cleared as soon as an import manifest is filed, with containers trucked away almost immediately after unloading, leaving no time for customs offices to act on suspected smuggling or tax evasion.
Sheeraz Ahmed, director of the Post Clearance Audit, conducted an audit of the new system’s first four months and found significant irregularities, sources said. But the report was shelved, and Ahmed was instead investigated — by the same group his findings had criticized, according to sources.
One official questioned whether the current customs system serves the country or mainly benefits a specific group, and called for scrutiny of the assets of those behind the system’s launch, both in Pakistan and abroad.
Sources said a new Facilitation Mechanism was created to replace Customs Intelligence but is understaffed and ineffective. Appraisement offices are also understaffed, which sources said keeps officers overworked and more likely to approve shipments without inspection.
One official said the system could work if competent officers were assigned and adequately staffed, naming Chief Collector Appraisement Wajid Ali as an officer who could help the system benefit both trade and the treasury if given sufficient support.