KATHMANDU, JULY 16

Surkhet Police on Tuesday made public the arrest of five individuals in possession of a large quantity of opium and counterfeit currency notes.

Acting on a tip-off, the District Police Office, Surkhet, seized 30 kg of opium worth around Rs 9 million and fake currency valued at Rs 1.3 million.

According to SP Sudhir Raj Shahi, those arrested include Dilmaya Singh Thakuri, 22, her brother Ram Bahadur Singh, 33, and Krishna Bahadur Wali, 35, all from Kushe Rural Municipality, Jajarkot. Police also arrested Prem Bahadur BK, 38, of Bheriganga Municipality-12, Surkhet, and Man Bahadur Sahakari, a resident of Kalikot who runs Janagarjan Media Pvt. Ltd. in Kohalpur, Banke.

Preliminary investigations suggest that the group had already circulated fake notes worth Rs 200,000, mostly paid to traders in Surkhet and Jajarkot in exchange for opium purchases, according to police.

Further investigations are underway, police added.