CBI seizes documents of properties worth crores from customs officials held in bribery case

The CBI has seized Rs 11 lakh in cash and documents related to properties worth crores from premises linked to an assistant commissioner of customs in Mumbai who was arrested for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 2,000, officials said Thursday.

The agency carried out searches at the office and residence of Raj Gehani, Assistant Commissioner of Customs, Air Cargo Complex, Mumbai who was arrested along with an appraiser, S Upadhyay, in the bribery case, they said.

They were arrested Tuesday while allegedly taking a bribe from a person for assessment of bills of entry and final assessment of the consignment.

During the search at Gehani's residence, the CBI seized Rs 11 lakh in cash, fixed deposit receipts of Rs 1.75 crore and documents related to the payment of Rs 1.02 crore for purchasing a flat in his wife's name at Santa Cruz, Mumbai, they said, adding Rs 18,000 was recovered from his office.

The search at the residence of appraiser S Upadhyay led to the recovery of Rs 5.5 lakh in cash besides documents of properties including three flats in up-market NRI complex, Nerul, Mumbai, three shops in Kharghar and Vashi, a plot in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, and farmland in Karjat village in Raigad district near Mumbai, the officials said.

In addition, documents of some property transactions have also been recovered, they said.