CBI registers FIR against three Customs officials in Mizoram bribery case

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered an FIR against three Customs officials, including a retired Superintendent and two Inspectors, in connection with an alleged bribery case in Mizoram.

According to officials, the FIR was registered on February 3 based on a complaint filed by the Additional Commissioner, Central GST (CGST), Guwahati. The accused officials were previously posted at the Customs Preventive Force (CPF), Champhai, Mizoram.

The CBI alleged that during their posting between 2022 and 2023, the officials abused their official positions by illegally detaining consignments of smuggled goods such as arecanuts and cigarettes without preparing proper seizure documents. They allegedly demanded and accepted illegal gratification from the owners of the seized goods for their release.

Investigators claim that bribes amounting to over Rs 35 lakh were received by the accused in multiple instances, following which the detained goods were released.

The agency further alleged that goods worth more than Rs 1.42 crore were found missing from the godowns maintained for seized items. The missing stock pertains to seizures made in various cases between December 23, 2022, and April 26, 2023.

As part of the ongoing investigation, the CBI is conducting searches at the premises of the accused officials across multiple locations, including Itanagar (Arunachal Pradesh), Guwahati (Assam), Sikar (Rajasthan), Patna (Bihar), and Churachandpur (Manipur).