Panaji, Dec 24 : Two customs officials were arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) at the Mormugao Port Trust (MPT) in Goa for allowing foreign ships to enter without mandatory checks, an official said Thursday.

The port premises have also been used by Pakistani sailors to smuggle into Goa in the past, according to the port's top official.

The two officials - Superintendent H. Rebello and Inspector B. V. R. Murthy - were caught red handed Wednesday with imported liquor and cigarette cartons worth Rs. 39,000 which were allegedly part of a bribe they had received from a cargo ship that had sailed from Panama.

"We nabbed them as they were alighting from a launch on return from the cargo vessel," CBI inspector R. K. Rishi told reporters.

"From what we have gathered up to now, customs officials have been allowing foreign ships to enter the MPT without inspecting the vessels. They would meet the ship's officials on board, collect their bribe and then allow the ship inside without inspection," Rishi, who is attached to the anti-corruption branch of the CBI, said.

"You never know what kind of contraband a foreign ship could carry. It's a major national security issue," he added.

The official said that enquiries were on against the two accused and that a formal first information report would be filed in due time.

The MPT chairman Praveen Agarwal is on record saying that the port premises, which include an exposed jetty, were often used by Pakistani sailors to enter India illegally.

"Instances of Pakistani seamen employed on international merchant ships being ferried by Khariwado fishing trawlers and boats to shore have been frequently reported, even though this is expressly prohibited by law," Agarwal had said.

MPT is one of India's largest iron exporting port and ships nearly 34 million tonnes of iron ore abroad annually.(IANS)