KARACHI: The Department of Plant Protection, which has a reputation for questionable conduct, has been exposed once again after its officials allegedly issued multiple manual release orders for eight containers of highly toxic betel nuts, currently held by the Customs Exports Collectorate at Port Qasim.
The consignment, valued at Rs. 73.618 million and belonging to a Karachi-based company, was flagged following intelligence reports that prompted customs officials to halt its clearance into the tariff area.
Sources revealed that the betel nuts were exposed to excessive moisture during their sea voyage, likely leading to contamination with aflatoxins - dangerous compounds produced by fungal strains like Aspergillus that can pose serious health risks when consumed.
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“Disturbingly, the levels of these toxins can easily exceed permissible safety limits due to lengthy sea journeys, rendering the nuts hazardous for consumption,” they said.
The Department of Plant Protection’s persistent efforts to secure the release of these potentially dangerous goods have raised alarm bells, as the agency reportedly harbors “serious apprehensions over the health risks,” they said.
Sources said the repeated issuance of manual release orders has raised significant transparency concerns about the department’s procedures.
Customs authorities are particularly troubled by the lack of integration with the WeBOC system, an online customs clearance platform, they said, asking that: “Given the known dangers associated with long voyages and increased moisture exposure, are the manual release orders sufficient enough to release these consignments?”
The incident has spotlighted regulatory gaps in the import process, with concerns that failure by the Plant Protection Department to properly regulate such imports could encourage “unscrupulous elements to exploit port clearances to import contaminated betel nuts,” threatening both public health and legitimate trade, sources said.
The controversy has also sparked discussions about outdated policies governing imports into the Export Processing Zone (EPZ), with calls for the EPZ Authority to revise its legal framework - unchanged for 25 years - particularly regarding items allowed for trading in the tariff area, sources said, urging the EPZ Authority to specifically ban the importation of betel nuts into these zones due to their potential environmental and health hazards.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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