Karachi Airport: UAE-based cargo handler accused of billion-rupee theft

KARACHI: A UAE-based cargo handling company operating at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport has been accused of orchestrating a massive theft of imported goods worth over a billion rupees from customs custody for the last 18 months, raising serious questions about potential collusion with customs officials.

The Customs Collectorate airport has registered two FIRs against staff members of the cargo handling company, with one female employee arrested and a male staff member declared an absconder.

The operation allegedly involved the illegal removal of high-value goods and their delivery to operators of “ghost companies” without payment of mandatory duties and taxes since March 2024.

“We have so far identified six consignments that were removed from the shed of said cargo handling company against forged documentation,” customs investigators revealed.

The fraud came to light when customs officials received credible information about two specific consignments that had been removed without proper examination or duty payment. The goods, primarily electronics, are initially estimated to be worth over Rs1 billion, though the complete inventory of stolen consignments has yet to be fully determined.

The investigation revealed a novel modus operandi involving fake Goods Declaration (GD) numbers lifted from legitimately cleared consignments. In one instance, cargo handlers allegedly used GD number KAPF-HC 61625, which had been genuinely issued for a pharmaceutical import cleared from another cargo handler on April 12, 2025. A second forged GD (KPAF-HC-62714) originally belonged to another pharmaceutical shipment.

These consignments, imported by what investigators described as ghost companies and warehoused at the UAE-based cargo handling facility, remained officially “un-cleared” in the customs computerized system while the goods had already been illegally delivered using fake documents. Sources familiar with the matter expressed skepticism about the prolonged nature of the operation. “This was nearly impossible — that customs officials posted at AFU remained unaware about this illicit activity for nearly 18 months, and billions worth of goods were removed,” sources said, suggesting the goods were removed in connivance with customs officials. The Customs Collectorate Airport has nominated the UAE cargo handling company, importers, and unidentified accomplices in its FIRs.

This is not the first incident of its kind at Karachi Airport. Previously, customs staff was reportedly involved in removing substantial quantities of expensive mobile phones from the customs warehouse, with the department neither taking action against its staff nor recovering the stolen devices.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025