Mumbai: CBI Files Six FIRs Against Six Custom Department Heads

Mumbai, 17th March 2023: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed six separate FIRs against six customs department superintendents and private clearing agents accused of participating in the illegal practice of using passports of individuals who have lived abroad for more than two years to clear goods without paying the appropriate customs duty.

The agency searched the home of one of the suspects, Deepak Parekh, a private individual who works as a clearing agent at Nhava Sheva, and discovered the frauds there. Documents, including details of cash and banking transactions Parekh had with several people, including some Customs officers, were confiscated by the agency.

The customs agents Alok Kumar, Vinod Kumar, Keshav Pandit, Hemant Gethe, Dinesh Kumar, and Brijesh Kumar have been arrested by the agency. Between 2020 and 2021, everyone was assigned to the UB centre in Nhava Sheva as preventive officers for Customs.

Deepak Parekh, his nephew Ashish Kamdar, and other unidentified individuals are listed as the private clearing agents charged in the case. While Alok Kumar, who was detained last month in connection with another case the agency had filed against him and who is currently out on bail, is suspended, booked Customs personnel are currently assigned to other airports throughout India.