KARACHI: The Special Court for Customs, Tax­ation & Anti-Smuggling has acquitted Navaid Ya­min in a case involving a Bentley Mulsanne, said to be stolen from the United Kingdom and recovered from a house in Defence Housing Authority in 2022.

Mr Yamin filed an acquittal application under Section 265-K of the criminal procedure code before Special Judge Muhammad Saad Qureshi.

After hearing arguments and examining the record, the court acquitted the suspect due to lack of any “material and cogent evidence”.

In the verdict, which was pronounced on March 12, 2024, the judge noted that there was no probability of conviction of the applicant, observing that the applicant was not involved in the import or sale the vehicle.

Earlier, Mr Yamin had challenged proceedings against him before the Customs Appellate Trib­unal at Karachi on the basis that he was wrongly implicated in the Bentley case. The appellate tribunal, vide order dated April 4, 2023, ruled in his favour, setting aside all penalties.

In September 2022, Customs authorities had seized the 2014 Bentley Mulsanne from a DHA house and arrested a local buyer of the high-end vehicle and another suspect for allegedly facilitating the clearance of the high-end vehicle.

Published in Dawn, March 17th, 2025