FIA begins probe into purchase of smuggled, expired medicines

KARACHI: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has initiated an investigation into the purchase of prohibited, smuggled, and expired medicines, as well as the purchase of eye lenses from the black market.

As per a preliminary investigation of the agency, some 52 hospitals across the country, including public and private hospitals of Sindh, Punjab, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had reportedly purchased medicines worth millions of rupees from local trader, who is being probed by the FIA in another case of allegedly keeping a large quantity of unauthorised foreign currency and gold.

According to the details, the FIA's Anti-Money Laundering Cell (AMLC) raided the house of local trade, located in PECHS society of Karachi, after obtaining a search warrant from a magistrate. During the raid, the FIA recovered a huge quantity of smuggled and expired eye-lenses, related machinery and medicines.

Besides, the FIA team also recovered a large quantity of foreign currency and gold bars and ornaments whose ownership was not justified by the accused at the time of the raid. The FIA included all the recovered items in the seizure memo and sent them to the Customs department for verification. After evaluation, the Customs department declared all the items as smuggled.

The case was referred to the FIA’s Corporate Crime Circle for further proceedings, where two separate first information reports (FIRs) were registered, one on April 23, 2024, under the section of Foreign Exchange Regulation 1947, in which only the trader was nominated as accused. After the subsequent investigation, another case under Customs Act was registered on May 8, 2024, against the accused and his wife was registered. Both the accused have got bails in both cases.

As per the FIA’s correspondence, during investigation, Masoom Ahmed reportedly disclosed that he had sold illegal drugs and lenses worth millions of rupees to as many as 52 hospitals across the country.

The FIA issued notices to the management of all 52 hospitals in connection with the purchase of prohibited and smuggled drugs, as well as lenses from Masoom Ahmad. This investigation follows allegations of illegal procurement activities, potentially implicating multiple parties in a widespread network of corruption and smuggling.

The FIA’s notices to the hospitals’ administrations specifically calls for detailed records of all transactions conducted with Masoom Ahmed. According to the text of the FIA’s notice, the hospitals’ management was directed to present the information and relevant records to the FIA’s Corporate Crime Circle Investigating Officer Muhammad Sohail.