Aizawl, Feb 6: The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a case against three Customs officials, including a retired Superintendent and two Inspectors, over allegations of bribery and serious irregularities during their tenure in Mizoram, officials said.
The FIR was lodged on February 3 following a complaint submitted by the Additional Commissioner of Central GST, Guwahati. The accused officers were earlier posted with the Customs Preventive Force at Champhai in Mizoram.
According to the CBI, the officials allegedly misused their official authority between 2022 and 2023 by unlawfully detaining consignments of smuggled items such as arecanuts and cigarettes. Investigators claim that the goods were held without following mandatory seizure procedures or preparing proper documentation, and that the officials subsequently demanded illegal payments from the owners for releasing the consignments.
The agency has alleged that the accused officials accepted bribes totalling more than Rs 35 lakh on multiple occasions, after which the detained goods were allegedly released. The investigation has also revealed discrepancies in official storage records, with goods worth over Rs 1.42 crore reported missing from government godowns meant for seized items. These missing stocks relate to seizures made between December 23, 2022, and April 26, 2023, the CBI said.
As part of the probe, the CBI has launched search operations at several locations linked to the accused, including Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh, Guwahati in Assam, Sikar in Rajasthan, Patna in Bihar, and Churachandpur in Manipur. Officials said further investigation is underway to establish the full extent of the alleged misconduct and identify any additional individuals involved in the case.
