According to the agency, the complainant in the case is a trader and his consignment had recently come to a Mumbai port, which was illegally held by the accused.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday arrested four Deputy Commissioners and one Superintendent, from Customs department, Mumbai, and a customs house agent (CHA) for allegedly demanding a bribe of Rs 50 lakh from a trader for clearing his consignment.
The accused have been identified as Deputy Commissioner customs Mukesh Meena, Rajeev Kumar Singh, Sudarshan Meena, Sandeep Yadav, Superintendent of Mumbai customs Manish Singh and a private person Nilesh Singh (CHA).
According to the agency, the complainant in the case is a trader and his consignment had recently come to a Mumbai port, which was illegally held by the accused. An official said, "The customs officials then in a conspiracy with the customs house agent asked for a bribe of Rs 50 lakh from the complainant. Earlier, too, the accused had taken money from the complainants." The officials found the money during the searches that were conducted at their premises.
"The CHA had assured a partner of the complainant that he would manage the customs officers of and Special Intelligence & Investigation Branch (SIIB), Marine & Preventive (M&P) and R & I Wings of Customs and would clear the consignments without any hurdle. The CHA along with the two Deputy Commissioners and Superintendent demanded the gratification of Rs 50 lakh from the complainant, for managing the clearance of the consignment," said a CBI official.
"As the complainant did not wish to give money, he approached us and filed a complaint. After verifying the complainant's claims, we registered a case against the accused and laid a trap and caught two Deputy Commissioners and the CHA while accepting the first installment of Rs 5 lakh from the complainant's partner. During the investigation, we found the involvement of two more commissioners and the superintendent who were later arrested. We conducted searches at the residential and official premises of the accused and our probe is on to ascertain if they have committed the similar offence earlier," the official added.
CAUGHT IN THE ACT
- The CBI laid a trap and caught two Deputy Commissioners and the CHA while accepting the first installment of Rs 5 lakh from the complainant’s partner
- During investigation, CBI found three other officiers involved as well
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