NOWSHERA, March 28: The anti-corruption police here on Wednesday arrested an official of the forest department for receiving graft and recovered from his possession marked currency notes.

The accused, Younas, during the preliminary interrogation, admitted to bribe-taking and also disclosed that the department’s high officials were involved in corrupt practices, as they forced them to take graft and pay them their share.

Abdus Salam, son of Sher Zaman, told the anti-corruption police that he had purchased timber worth Rs400,000 in Swabi. While transporting it to Peshawar, the forest department staff stationed at the Amangarh checkpoint demanded illegal gratification from him.

Abdus Salam said that he was in the mood to oblige the officials for a legal work, but the forest guard insisted that he was demanding the amount for his superiors.

Abdus Salam reported the matter to the anti-corruption police inspector Nazir Khan and sub-inspector Sardar Khan, who in turn informed the Nowshera civil judge-cum-judicial magistrate, Mohammad Zeb.

The anti-corruption police constituted a party that raided the divisional forest office in Nowshera and recovered marked currency notes from the possession of the official and arrested him. Further investigation is in progress.