Kathmandu, August 4

Police have stepped up vigil at Tribhuvan International Airport, post offices, and courier service providers after the law enforcement agency found drug racketeers switching to air parcel and courier services to smuggle contraband abroad.

Officials said drug traffickers were smuggling contraband under the cloak of postal parcels after police continued to intercept drug carriers at TIA, the only international airport in the country. Last week, a team of Narcotic Control Bureau caught two Chinese nationals while they were trying to register three sealed cartons containing 980 grams hashish at the General Post Office, Sundhara, to post it to their country. The detainees were Liu Jingyi (passport no 20693774) and Cal Iping (passport no 28368531).

The drug was concealed in a consignment of henna. Earlier on June 19, NCB seized two parcels registered with GPO containing 8.4 kg hashish at TIA. The parcels were being delivered to Beijing.

On July 6, police arrested two persons for trying to smuggle 9.3 kg hashish to Canada. Sukdev Yadav, 45, of Bairawa, Saptari and Min Bhujel, 34, of Bateshwor, Dhanusa, currently residing in Baneshwor and Gausala respectively, were nabbed from TIA while trying to smuggle contraband via a courier service by concealing it inside ornamental items.

According to officials, the duo was about to smuggle hashish to Canada on a FlyDubai plane through DHL Express Nepal. In December last year, police arrested Manoj Karki, 32, of Bhaktapur for trying to smuggle 4.48 kg hashish to Greece on a Jet Airways flight via a courier service by concealing it in wooden handicraft.

Similarly, three persons were arrested for trying to smuggle 8.3 kg hashish to Hong Kong through cargo at TIA. The drug was concealed in the false-bottoms plastic cans filled with honey to outsmart law enforcement officers. “Drug racketeers have switched to postal or courier services to smuggle contraband in small consignments following several arrests of drug carriers at the airport of late.

Bearing this in mind, we have stepped up vigil in vulnerable areas to check smuggling,” a police official said.

One kg of hashish fetches more than $20,000 in China and Europe against around Rs 10,000 in the illegal Nepali market. Investigators said demand for Nepali hash is high in the due to its quality.

NCB has recorded 15 cases of drug smuggling bid through air parcel and courier service in the past three years.