Kathmandu, March 28 Police today saidthey arrested two foreign women in possession of a huge cache of liquid cocaine worth millions in Kathmandu. Acting on a tip-off, a team deployed from the Narcotics Control Bureau of Nepal Police nabbed the suspects from Chhetrapati-Thamel yesterday. READ ALSO

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They have been identified as 37-year-old South African national Msane Mpathoni (Passport No. A04668043) and 41-year-old Mercy from Nagaland, India. The 2.722 litres liquid cocaine was packed in five shampoo bottles, the NCB informed at a press meet in Kathmandu today. According to police, the haul is worth US$ 600,000 in the international drug market. The NCB added that it was the first time they had seized liquid cocaine in Kathmandu Valley. According to NCB, Mpathoni had smuggled in the contraband from Brazil via Dubai. Preliminary investigation showed that she is associated with a racket that smuggled cocaine to Europe from India and the Philippines in the past also, the NCB said. Police claimed that Mpathoni intended to smuggle the contraband to European countries, including Netherlands and Italy via India. Last year, police had arrested a Malaysian woman, identified as Marina Binti Jamaludding, in possession of 11 kg cocaine from Tribhuvan International Airport. International drug cartels have been using Nepal as a transit point to smuggle contraband to different Asian and European countries.