Indian Customs officials slammed

INDIA’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case against senior personnel at Thirvananthapuram airport in Kerala (India) for alleged cheating and obtaining illegal gratification.
The charges come against a joint commissioner, an assistant commissioner, four superintendents and one inspector of Customs at the airport.
It was alleged that the customs officials and clearing agents of the unaccompanied baggage section of the air cargo complex had been engaged in the unauthorised import of various items for sale and distribution in different parts of Kerala and other states in the country.
These items were disguised as unaccompanied baggage using the names and passports of different people.
CBI intercepted four mini-trucks loaded at the air cargo complex with goods cleared by Customs officials. During the verification, the passport holders, in whose names the goods were cleared, denied ownership of the goods and admitted that they had only handed over their passports to different clearing agents on their request.
Searches were conducted at seven places, resulting in the recovery of incriminating documents showing payments allegedly made to public servants by the clearing agents. The investigation continues.