Follow us on Google News
The Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested Sudhakara T. M., assistant director and officer-in-charge at the Plant Quarantine Station in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, along with an alleged middleman, Sunkavalli Satyanarayana, in connection with a bribery case involving Rs 1 lakh. According to investigators, the public servant demanded the bribe from a private enterprise as undue advantage in exchange for clearing imported shipping containers. Acting on the complaint, federal investigators laid a trap on November 6 and caught the officer while he was accepting the illicit cash through the intermediary. Agency officials recovered the entire bribe sum at the scene and took both individuals into custody, while widening their probe to ascertain the involvement of other officials and private entities named in the initial criminal case.
Trap Laid Following Demand for Clearance of Imported Consignments
The anti-corruption operation follows a formal case registered by the central investigating agency on November 6, 2026. The initial complaint named two officials from the Plant Quarantine Station in Visakhapatnam, including the assistant director, alongside three private individuals and unknown accomplices. Investigators noted that the public servant had demanded an illicit payment of Rs 1 lakh from the representative of a private commercial firm to process and clear imported consignments. Following receipt of the complaint, verification was conducted, and an operational team set a coordinated trap on the same day. During the operation, Sudhakara was caught in the act of accepting the demanded sum through Satyanarayana, who was acting as an intermediary to facilitate the transaction.
Multi-State Searches Conducted Across Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, and Karnataka
Following the formal arrest of the two accused, the Central Bureau of Investigation initiated search operations across premises linked to the suspects. Searches were conducted at residential and operational locations in Visakhapatnam, Faridabad in Haryana, and Thimnapalli village situated in Karnataka’s Kolar district. While the agency has not publicly disclosed the exact details of additional cash, property papers, or sensitive files seized during these raids, both arrested individuals were subsequently produced before a competent court in Visakhapatnam. Investigators are currently examining financial records and questioning associates to determine whether similar clearance payoffs were systematically organized through this network.
Mandate of Plant Quarantine Stations in Regulating Agricultural Imports
The Plant Quarantine Station operates under the Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine, and Storage within the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. Stations of this department bear the statutory responsibility of conducting phytosanitary inspections and issuing clearance certifications for agricultural imports and exports entering or leaving the country. Rigorous biological inspection of foreign agricultural consignments and plant materials is mandated to prevent the cross-border introduction of invasive pests, crop diseases, and harmful organisms that could endanger domestic agriculture. Station officials exercise regulatory authority to inspect inbound freight containers and ensure strict compliance with biosecurity protocols before granting port clearance. The agency has kept the identity of the private firm confidential as verification continues into the broader import clearance pipeline.
