Punjab food officials seize 15 tonnes of smuggled flour

TAXILA: The Punjab Food Department said on Monday it intercepted a consignment of about 15 tonnes of wheat flour at the inter-provincial checkpost on GT Road near Wah Garden, stopping what officials described as an illegal attempt to move the commodity in violation of transport rules.

District Food Controller Rawalpindi Azhar Abbas told journalists the department’s enforcement team made the seizure during routine inspection of vehicles entering Punjab. He said officials stopped a container that appeared to be carrying commercial goods, but a closer examination uncovered wheat flour that had allegedly been hidden beneath other items.

According to Mr Abbas, the checkpost in-charge spotted inconsistencies between the shipment documents and the cargo declared by the vehicle, which led to the recovery of the flour before the vehicle could proceed. He said the transport of the flour breached the government’s inter-provincial regulations on the movement of wheat and flour.

Mr Abbas said such unauthorised movement of flour disturbs the regulated supply system, promotes hoarding and black marketing, and affects availability for consumers. He said the seized stock, which he identified as belonging to different flour mills in Lahore district, had been taken into official custody, while the container was impounded for further investigation.