ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency’s Anti-Corruption Circle has arrested three Pakistan Customs officials for their involvement in an alleged bribery and extortion case.
The arrests were made on a complaint alleging that the officials harassed and threatened an individual while demanding Rs5 million bribe to grant unlawful relief in an ongoing customs criminal case.
Investigators stated that the demanded sum was eventually negotiated down to Rs2.5 million, accompanied by threats to implicate the complainant’s family members and business associates if the payment was withheld. Upon receiving a formal approval, FIA officials raided a local café in Islamabad’s I-8 sector alongside a judicial magistrate.
During the operation, one inspector was apprehended while accepting Rs500,000 as first installment of the bribe. Authority officials recovered the marked currency notes and seized the suspect’s mobile phone. An initial forensic review of the seized device yielded voice recordings indicating a coordinated conspiracy to extort the victim and harass his relatives.
The primary suspect was presented before a local court, which granted the agency a five-day physical remand to facilitate further investigation.
