The Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority on Monday arrested three employees of the Tribhuvan International Airport Customs Office with bribe money.

Those held include customs officer Indra Neupane from the foreign postal customs section, non-gazetted first class officer Chhabi Prasad Rijal and office assistant Ganesh Prasad Pudasaini.

CIAA teams seized Rs268,288 in cash and 23 mobile phones from the three and other suspected individuals. CIAA spokesperson Suresh Neupane said the cash included both bribe money and amounts with no disclosed source.

The arrests followed complaints that service users were asked to pay bribes while sending goods abroad through courier services, prompting the CIAA to deploy a team from Tangal.

According to the CIAA, Rs146,420 was recovered from Pudasaini. From Rijal, the CIAA recovered Rs38,848, including Rs20,000 allegedly taken from a service user and Rs18,848 with no disclosed source.

The CIAA said the bribes were taken in collusion among the three and seized before the money could be shared. The 23 mobile phones recovered from them and other staff are being prepared for forensic examination.