KARACHI: Customs authorities have filed a first information report against the owner of a clearing agency and an accomplice, alleging they used a forged passport and misused genuine banking documents to illegally import a used luxury electric vehicle under a personal baggage scheme, according to the FIR.
The report, lodged Oct. 9 at the Collectorate of Customs (Appraisement-East) in Karachi, names Ishfaq Hussain, proprietor of M/s Caprice International, and Mazhar Iqbal as the primary accused. Authorities said others may be identified during the investigation.
According to the FIR, Hussain’s firm filed a goods declaration on Sept. 1, 2023, for a used 2019 Mercedes-Benz EQC 400 4MATIC, declaring it as a personal import belonging to Moed Mustafa against Passport No. EW0875871. The vehicle was declared at a value of 151,750 rupees, or about $500, and released.
The case surfaced on Aug. 3, 2026, when Maj. Moed Mustafa, a serving Pakistan Army officer, filed a complaint alleging his passport and Proceeds Realization Certificates had been used without his knowledge or consent. He sought cancellation of the clearing agent’s license, suspension of the vehicle’s registration and absolution from liability.
Customs officials compared the passport submitted for clearance with the genuine document produced by Mustafa and found the photograph, expiry date and bottom markings differed. Page 7 of the submitted passport bore a stamp showing Mustafa as a “Driver in KSA,” while the same page in the genuine passport was blank. The NADRA family registration certificate used for clearance bore Mustafa’s original photograph, while the uploaded passport did not, the FIR states.
The vehicle was later ascertained to be worth 13,210,935 rupees, or about $43,328 — far above the declared value.
In a hearing Aug. 3, Hussain told investigators the passport was not provided directly by the consignee but was obtained through an intermediary identified as Ali Shaikh via a former employee named Rustam. Hussain said he did not personally know the passport holder.
Mustafa told authorities he had sent his original PRCs and the front page of his passport via WhatsApp to Iqbal for a vehicle import and was not contacted afterward. He said he learned on Feb. 12, 2024, that a vehicle had been cleared against his passport fraudulently, after which those involved admitted the clearance, promised compensation and disappeared.
Iqbal, in a written explanation received Aug. 20, admitted he created a Facebook page to connect with overseas Pakistanis seeking vehicle imports. He said he reached a deal with Mustafa for the passport and PRCs, settling at 250,000 rupees after Mustafa initially demanded 350,000 rupees. Iqbal said he received the original passport, PRCs and FRC by courier and later sold the documents to an agent. The PRCs misused are valued at approximately 8.6 million rupees, according to the complainant.
Authorities allege Hussain and Iqbal, in collusion with others, trafficked the passport holder’s personal travel and banking documents, knowingly presented a forged passport to Customs and secured the vehicle’s illegal release in violation of Appendix-E of the Import Policy Order, 2022.
The FIR cites violations of Sections 16, 17, 32A(1)(a), 79, 192 and 209 of the Customs Act, 1969, punishable under clauses 9, 14A and 86 of Section 156(1), read with the Imports and Exports (Control) Act, 1950, and the Import Policy Order, 2022.
The report was lodged by Malik Muhammad Hashim, a senior preventive officer, following approval from the competent authority. An in-depth investigation is ongoing.
