HYDERABAD: In an unprecedented action of its nature, a team of Customs officials escorted by Rangers personnel raided the city`s largest mobile market on Thursday night, beat up several shopkeepers and seized an unspecified number mobile phones from over two dozen shops.

They snatched mobile phone sets from some salesmen during the raid.

The raid was mentioned in a press release issued by the local Customs authorities following the episode, but none of the its officials, including Collector Ms Mona and Additional Director Mr Junaid, approached by Dawn on Friday appeared forthcoming to share details of the raid and seizure of the merchandise.

The raid began at around 8:45pm and continued for about 30 minutes.

Uniformed Customs officials entered the market functioning in a plaza, standing on the plot that once housed Chandni Cinema, situated within the Cantonment Board Hyderabad (CBH) limits. Some of the shopkeepers and salesmen were beaten up when they tried to ask the officials about the reason to seize the merchandise.

The unprecedented action led to the closure of the mobile marketand strong protest by the shopkeepers and other affected people, who blocked the Cantonment Shopping Centre road.

The furious protesters, speaking to local journalists, argued that the raiding team took away their merchandise without preparing any inventory. `How would it be ascertained that how many mobile phone sets have been seized and from which shop?` they wondered.

`My shirt was torn off by the officials when I tried to ask them about reason for the action, but they didn`t reply and apprehended me,` said Noman Shah, President of the market`s association, during the protest.

`The officials didn`t allow me to film the action,` said Mr Ubaid, another shopkeeper, who alleged that officials were quite aggressive; they were using abusive language.

The affected vendors claimed that the seized mobile phones included the most expensive ones, like latest iPhone models. According to a rough estimate, the worth of the seized mobile phones was no fewer than Rs100m.

One of the affected shopkeepers, Ashfaq Qureshi, reportedly suffered acute chest pain following the raid on his outlet and was rushed to the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD).

Adeel Siddiqui, a Hyderabadbased leader of the Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerceand Industry (FPCCI), and Hyderabad Tajir Ittehad leader Mahmood Rajput condemned the raid and joined the protest to express solidarity with the shopkeepers.

Mr Siddiqui said that the way the Customs officials conducted the raid was unacceptable. He urged the authorities concerned to take action in order to address the situation and hold the raiding Customs team accountableforthe action.

Official version The press release shared with the media by the Collectorate of Customs (enforcement), Hyderabad, said that this directorate, in coordination with Pakistan Rangers, conducted a successful raid at mobile market in Saddar, Hyderabad. `A total of 137 smuggle d mobile phones including highend brands such as iPhones, Google Pixel, and OnePlus, were detained.

Value of the detained illegal mobiles comes to Rs40m approx...

It maintained that `these nonPTA-approved mobile phones enter country through illegal channels and used in criminal activities, posingaseriousthreattonationalsecurity and economy. A crackdown on market dealing in such devices was deemed necessary to curb their availability and illegal trade.

`Customs authorities reaffirm commitment to take stringent action against smuggling and illegal sale of non-PTA-approved mobile phones and gadgets. `Further investigation is underway to identify individuals involved in illicit trade.