The Customs department has stopped a Karachi-bound merchant ship at Nhava Sheva port and seized a dual-use consignment on the suspicion that it could also be used for Pakistan’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

People familiar with the matter said that acting on a specific intelligence, the customs officials on January 23 halted a Malta-flagged merchant ship, CMA CGM Attila, which was proceeding to Karachi and inspected the consignment.

Customs officials said that the consignment included a computer numerical control (CNC) machine, originally manufactured by an Italian company and could be used for defence purposes as well.

“We acted on a specific intelligence received from central agencies and stopped the ship for examining the consignment. The consignment is seized under the prevailing policies, as it can be used also for nuclear and ballistic missile programme,” said a Customs official.

He said though the CNC machine is manufactured by an Italian company, it was being shipped from China to Pakistan and therefore it was suspected that the consignment was meant for Pakistani defence forces.

People familiar with the matter said that the consignment was meant for Karachi based Cosmos Engineering, a group engaged mainly in production of automobile parts and home appliances. The company also manufactures firefighting systems, CCTV cameras, solar panels, equipment required for heavy industry and research etc.