New Delhi/Aizawl, Feb 5 The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered an FIR against three Customs officials, including a retired Superintendent and two serving Inspectors, in connection with an alleged bribery case, the central probe agency sources said on Thursday.
The CBI sources said that the case was registered on February 3, based on a complaint from Additional Commissioner, CGST, Guwahati, against three accused -- Tuanzakhup, Mohan Singh and Sahil Kumar Sinha, who were earlier posted at Customs Preventive Force (CPF), Champhai, Mizoram.
The case was filed for abuse of their official position and receipt of illegal gratification for releasing smuggled goods in Mizoram. It was alleged that the Custom Officials posted at CPF, Champhai, during the period 2022-2023 illegally detained areca nuts (betel nuts), cigarettes, etc., without preparing any document and demanded illegal gratification/bribe from the persons concerned.
On receipt of the bribe amounting to more than Rs 35 Lakh in different instances, the confiscated goods were released, the central probe agency sources said.
Further, it was also alleged that goods worth more than Rs 1.42 crore were found to be missing from the available stocks at the godowns in respect of seizures conducted in different cases from December 23, 2022, to April 26, 2023.
Searches are being conducted at the premises of the three accused persons at Itanagar (Arunachal Pradesh), Guwahati (Assam), Sikar (Rajasthan), Patna (Bihar), and Churachandpur (Manipur).
Earlier, several officials, residents and Myanmar nationals were arrested for their illegal involvement in smuggling or for assisting drug peddlers.
Meanwhile, Mizoram shares a 510-km unfenced border with Myanmar and a 318-km porous mountainous border with Bangladesh.
Myanmar’s Chin state is a major hub for the smuggling of various drugs, areca nuts, foreign cigarettes, exotic wildlife and other contraband through six Mizoram districts -- Champhai, Siaha, Lawngtlai, Hnahthial, Saitual and Serchhip.
--IANS
sc/dan
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor