Mumbai: Customs department official arrested by CBI for demanding bribe

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday arrested a Customs department official in Mumbai for allegedly demanding a bribe.

The accused, an appraising officer at Air Cargo Complex in Mumbai was caught red-handed by the investigation agency while accepting a bribe of Rs 10,000 from the complainant.

According to the CBI, it was alleged that the Customs Department had put Import-Export Code of the complainant under 'alert', because of which he was unable to export his consignment.

The accused allegedly demanded and obtained a bribe of Rs 5000 to issue a one-time No-Objection Certificate valid for 15 days for the complainant to export his consignments within that limit.

CBI further revealed that the said appraising officer demanded a further bribe of Rs.20,000/- from the complainant to permanently revoke the 'alert' which was reduced to Rs.10,000/- after negotiation.

"CBI laid a trap and caught the accused red-handed while demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs. 10,000/- from the complainant. Searches were conducted at the premises of the accused," the investigation agency said.

A case under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 has been registered against the official.