The Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested a Plant Quarantine Station Assistant Director and a private person in Visakhapatnam in an alleged bribery case involving the clearance of containers belonging to a private firm.
The arrested officer was identified as TM Sudhakara, Assistant Director at the Plant Quarantine Station in Visakhapatnam. The private person was identified as Sunkavalli Satyanarayana. According to the CBI, the assistant director was allegedly caught accepting Rs.1 lakh during a trap operation.
The agency said it registered the case on November 6, 2026, against two officials of the Plant Quarantine Station in Visakhapatnam, including the assistant director, three private persons and other unknown persons. The case concerns the alleged demand and acceptance of an undue advantage for clearing containers connected to a private firm.
The CBI said the assistant director had allegedly demanded Rs.1 lakh for the container clearances. During the trap operation on Friday, the officer was allegedly caught red-handed while accepting the money from a private person. The bribe amount was recovered from his possession, according to the agency.
Both the assistant director and Satyanarayana were arrested in connection with the case. The CBI’s account, as reported by Deccan Chronicle, identifies the alleged transaction as being linked to the functioning of the Plant Quarantine Station, an administrative point through which consignments requiring plant-health clearance are processed.
The case places attention on the role of clearance agencies in the movement of goods through Visakhapatnam, where delays or disputes in regulatory processing can affect private firms handling containerised cargo. The material supplied in the report does not provide details of the firm involved, the containers’ contents, the value of the consignment or the alleged involvement of the other accused persons.
The CBI also conducted searches at premises linked to the accused persons in Visakhapatnam, Faridabad and Thimanapalli village in Karnataka’s Kolar district. The searches formed part of the investigation following the arrests and the recovery of the alleged bribe amount.
The agency has not, in the supplied report, disclosed whether any additional arrests, seizures or documentary findings resulted from the searches. The case remains an allegation under investigation, and the arrests do not by themselves establish guilt. Further proceedings will depend on the CBI’s investigation and the evidence placed before the court.
