ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has discovered that customs officers were using unlawfully smuggled iPhone 14 Pro Max devices rather than disposing of them as required by law.
According to the documents Dawn has access to, PTA revealed that the pricey cell phones that were taken from passengers and had to be destroyed were functional in response to a letter sent to the authorities regarding the investigation into the Islamabad International Airport (IIA) Collectorate.
According to people with direct knowledge of the situation, senior FBR officials constituted a committee to supervise the destruction of the cell phones once pertinent authorities made the decision to do so. The committee is tasked to oversee the destruction of the artifacts that were not able to be auctioned.
The Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) has also been made aware of this issue and is attempting to take action against the officials who committed the “theft.” FTO also asked the IIA Collector for clarification.
Documents show that a report was made regarding the theft of forty-two iPhones. “Conduct proper probe into allegation that impugned mobile phones are active (not destroyed) and take appropriate action against customs officials found responsible,” the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) was directed to do by the FTO.
“Operational utilisation of 2 non-type approved and 20 other mobile phones with iCloud status reflected ON” was disclosed to the Collectorate by the PTA during the probe.
According to the inquiry report, “this implies that at least 22 of the 42 iPhone 14 Pro Max were genuinely not destroyed.” According to the investigation, the IIA Collectorate transferred the accountability to another Collectorate in order to conceal the theft.
In its order, the FTO noted that the case constituted a “Defiance of Recommendations” because the inquiry officer was unable to identify the perpetrators of the theft and went on to ask the IIA Collector for clarification.
The directive said, “Collector, Collectorate of Custom IIA Islamabad is given a last opportunity to comply with recommendations,” and it gave instructions on how to discipline any staff members found to be at fault.
