The Lahore Customs anti-smuggling authorities have taken action against their inspector Zubair, who took a stand against a grave violation by the department, implicating an imam masjid as the culprit in a 5kg narcotics case.

The Customs authorities swiftly took action and issued a show-cause notice to Zubair, who had declared the imam masjid who is also a rickshaw driver, innocent in an investigation. The authorities took further notice and sent Zubair off-duty when he issued notices to the real accused involved in the narcotics case.

Who is the imam masjid wrongly involved in narcotics case?

Waseem Khan is a resident of Harbanspura. He is an imam masjid in his local mosque and a rickshaw driver as well working with an online ride-hailing company in his spare time to make both ends meet. According to Waseem, on December 14, he received a call from the owner of Asia Cargo to deliver a consignment to Lorry Adda.

“I went to the office of the cargo company and told them the consignment note number, which was given to me by the owner. The company gave me four cartons. I was going to the Lorry Adda with the cartons when I was caught by the Customs authorities. Instead of reaching the real culprits of the shipment, the Customs authorities registered a case against me and sent me to jail,” he claimed.

As per sources, Customs Inspector Zubair said a WhatsApp chat between the rickshaw driver and the company owner, Rashid, was on record in which the owner wanted to deliver four cartons.

On the other hand, cargo manager Qayyum said: “This parcel was suspicious and we reported it to the Customs authorities. A friend of the owner is a collector in the Lahore Customs and is often mentioned in the office.”

What neighbours say about imam masjid’s character

SAMAA TV asked a number of neighbours of Waseem Khan. Some of them have known Waseem for over 10 years. A few of them said Waseem is a former imam of the local mosque. Waseem used to live with his family in a one-room house in the mosque and later started living in a 1.5-marla rented house. Meanwhile, like any financially challenged family, his wife set up a tuck shop in the house.

The neighbours appealed to the authorities to look into the matter and release the innocent man immediately.

What legal experts say

A legal expert, advocate Chaudhry Abdul Majeed, said: “The case is very severe, and the accused could be punished with life imprisonment and a fine of at least Rs2 million."

So far, no attempt has been made by the Customs authorities to reach the real culprit behind the narcotics consignments.