Bribe of Customs officer alleged

Press, 7 May 1980, Page 3

Bribe of Customs officer alleged

PA Auckland Auckland customs officers are investigating allegations that one of their fellow workers accepted a $25,000 bribe made by a man they su-spect of smuggling goods into New Zealand worth up to $500,000. However, tire officers say that without the help of Mr X, who has apparently gone to ground, the investigation is “particularly difficult.” A senior Customs investigations officer, Mr S. Hartlev, said that without the aid of the man involved, his staff were faced with a compli-, 1 cated jig-saw of events. Mr Hartley said the de- 1 partment had a “good idea” 1 ' of the man’s identity, but a; search for him over the last! few days had proved fruit-' less. So far, investigations had involved tracing flights on which the alleged smuggler is thought to have travelled and linking up the times with the Customs officers’ duty roster. Mr Hartley said his staff! were trying to find a com-! mon denominator that would i link specific flights with 1 known rostered officers. He said there, were no early indications as to who was involved and there were no suspects. “Unfortunately, we are not just dealing with a bribery allegation but also one of smuggling,” said Mr Hartley. If the so-called Mr X’s claims were true it meant a substantial amount of revenue had been evaded.