Missing cigarette cartons worth Rs250m: FIA registers case against five FBR officials
ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has registered a case against two inspectors and three low-grade employees of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) as well as three office-bearers of a private company in connection with the alleged theft of 2,828 cartons of cigarettes worth Rs 250 million from the FBR warehouses.
Director, FIA Islamabad Zone, following the approval of the competent authority, registered a First Information Report (FIR) against FBR officials, namely Inspector Kamran, Inspector Naveed, Driver Aftab Hussain, Security guard Qazi Ammad, Naib Qasid Sajjad Ali as well as private individuals Saqib Ali Khan, Director, Paramount Company, Fida, Director, Paramount company and Owais Qureshi, manager, Paramount Company under sections 409 and 109 of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and section 5(2) 47 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947.
The FIR said that the role of other FBR officers/officials, including deputy commissioners, as well as any other private persons, if found involved, shall be determined during course of further investigation.
It says that it transpired in the enquiry that certain FBR officials/officers and office-bearers of Paramount Company were allegedly involved in misappropriation, embezzlement, misconduct and connivance in connection with the disappearance of 2,828 cartons of cigarettes from FBR warehouses in District Swabi, resulting in an alleged loss of approximately Rs 250 million to the government exchequer.
The FIR says that the matter surfaced on February 14, 2024, when FBR Inspector Kamran intercepted six vehicles carrying 1,262 cartons of Kissan-brand cigarettes at Chota Lahore, District Swabi.
The detained cigarettes were confiscated and shifted to the FBR Warehouse situated at Shahbaz Ghari, Mardan.
Subsequently, on April 22, 2024, FBR officials Inspector Kamran and Inspector Naveed shifted 1,202 cartons from the detained stock through four trucks to the FBR warehouse at Qasim Pulla, Swabi. Upon arrival, 908 cartons were found missing, it says.
It says that on May 2, 2024, 907 cartons were reportedly recovered from Doulatabad Mankai, Swabi, and shifted to the FBR warehouse at Qasim Pulla.
However, according to the enquiry findings, no corresponding entries were made in the stock register in respect of the recovered stock or the missing
cartons. The FIR says that almost one year later, on May 7, 2025, FBR Inspector Shadman Khan, during an inspection of the Qasim Pulla warehouse, discovered that a total of 2,828 cartons of cigarettes, including the aforesaid 907 cartons, were missing.
It says that the matter was reported to the local police, whereupon cognizance was taken.
The matter was thereafter referred to the FIA through the Ministry of Interior for probe, as indications had emerged that the disappearance of attributable merely to ordinary theft and that there could be involvement, negligence, misuse of official authority or connivance on the part of FBR officials/officers and private unknown persons.
The agency at FIA’s Anti-Corruption Circle (ACC) started an enquiry regarding allegations of misappropriation, embezzlement, misconduct, ulterior motives and connivance of FBR officials/officers with local/private persons associated with Paramount Company. During the probe, the FIA sought clarification from the FBR regarding the custody, transfer, record-keeping and security arrangements relating to the detained cigarettes.
In response, the FBR confirmed several significant instances of criminal negligence in the management and documentation of the warehouses.
It was reported that no official logbook about either warehouse was available; no stock register for either warehouse was available; no CCTV cameras had been installed at the warehouses; no handing/taking Standard Operating Procedure (SOPs) or protocols were available on record; no record of the movement of mobile squads or entries relating thereto was available; and no written directions had been issued for movement of the stock from one warehouse to another.
It was further revealed that, despite the disappearance of 908 cartons on April 22, 2024, no effective action was taken at that stage and the matter was not reported to the police.
Further, the Manager of Paramount Company disclosed that the confiscated cigarettes pertaining to Paramount Company were disowned pursuant to the directions of FBR officials, allegedly as a last resort to avoid confiscation of the company’s machinery, which would have resulted in a substantially greater financial loss to the company than the loss arising from confiscation of the cigarettes.
During the course of the further probe, the FIA identified five FBR officials/employees and three office-bearers of the Paramount Company and decided to register a case against them.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026