Canadian national gets eight-year jail term for carrying excess dollars at Karachi airport

A Karachi customs court has sentenced a Canadian passport holder to eight years in prison on two counts for attempting to smuggle foreign currency out of Pakistan.

Special Judge Dr Shaban Waheed awarded Raheel Dhannani five and three years of imprisonment under the Customs Act.

State prosecutor Naimatullah Soomro stated that Dhannani was heading to Vancouver via Bangkok from Karachi on Jan 24, 2023, along with his family. Customs staff inquired if he carried foreign currency, to which he replied in the negative.

Subsequent inspection of his luggage led to the recovery of $111,400 and CAN$31,425.

The defence counsel argued that officials failed to issue a declaration form, produce CCTV footage, associate independent witnesses, or present a written refusal on record. The lawyer maintained that Dhannani was intercepted prior to completing departure procedures and had not passed the point where a lawful declaration became impossible.

The court dismissed the defence claims. It observed that entering the international departure lounge with currency exceeding legal limits without declaration after direct questioning moves the act beyond preparation into an attempt.

“The accused was an experienced international traveller; he possessed complete knowledge of customs formalities; he was carrying foreign currency vastly exceeding the limit prescribed under the state bank notification; he denied carrying such currency when questioned by the customs officials; and no satisfactory lawful explanation was offered for attempting to take such a huge amount abroad without complying with the mandatory legal requirements,” the verdict read.

The judge remarked that the evidence points to a deliberate attempt to violate the Customs Act, 1969, rather than an accidental mistake.

“The attempted export of foreign currency in violation of the statutory restrictions attracts the definition contained in Section 2(s) of the Customs Act, and the prosecution has successfully proved that the accused knowingly attempted to export smuggled goods contrary to law,” the ruling noted.