A special court has sentenced a man to eight years in prison for attempting to take foreign currency exceeding the legal limit out of Pakistan without declaring it.
The Special Court for Customs, Taxation and Anti-Smuggling convicted Raheel Dhannani and handed him separate prison terms of five years and three years under the Customs Act. According to the prosecution, Dhannani, a Canadian passport holder, was traveling with his family from Karachi to Vancouver via Bangkok on January 24, 2023.
Customs officials asked him whether he was carrying any foreign currency, but he denied having any, the prosecution said. During a search of his luggage, officials recovered US$111,400 and CAD31,425.
The defense argued that customs officials did not issue a declaration form, produce CCTV footage, or present independent witnesses. It also claimed the accused had not completed departure formalities and still had the opportunity to declare the currency.
The court rejected those arguments, ruling that the accused had entered the international departure area with foreign currency far exceeding the legal limit and failed to declare it despite being specifically questioned by customs officials.
The court noted that Dhannani was an experienced international traveler who knowingly attempted to take a large amount of foreign currency abroad in violation of customs laws. It ruled that the prosecution had proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
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