Kathmandu, October 5 The Narcotics Control Bureau arrested two persons with a huge amount of prescription drugs from Kathmandu today. Those arrested are Arun Thapa, 25, of Morang and Ambar Bahadur Rai, 24, of Bhojpur. The narco police said 5,125 ampoules of injectable drugs — diazepam, phenergan and bupreorphine — were confiscated from the duo. According to NCB, they were long involved in smuggling prescription drugs to major cities, including Kathmandu, through the Nepal-India border. Thapa is a repeat offender. He was released from jail in February last year after serving 10 years and paying a fine of Rs 80,000 for possessing 44 grams brown heroin. Senior Superintendent of Police Bishwa Raj Pokharel said many racketeers like Thapa were found to have switched to smuggling of pharmaceutical drugs from hardcore ones like heroin due to lenient punishment for the former. Those found in possession of hardcore drugs get up to life imprisonment. But those convicted of smuggling pharmaceutical drugs need spend only around three years in jail. Thapa and Rai had been smuggling prescription drugs to Kathmandu from India via Birgunj for the past few months in an organised way. Organised trade of controlled pharmaceutical drugs, which can only be sold and bought against a doctor’s prescription, continues unabated despite police crackdown on dealers and users. NCB warned that abuse of prescription drugs was rife in Kathmandu valley. It said teenagers and youths account for the largest section of end users of prescription drugs. An ampoule or tablet of prescription drugs is sold at around Rs 500 against Rs 1,000 for one gram of heroin in the illegal market. They are accessible and more affordable for users. Alarmed by the rise in smuggling and consumption of illicit drugs and alcohol, the Ministry of Home Affairs recently launched a nationwide campaign against drug abuse. The ministry has already directed Nepal Police, Armed Police Force and National Investigation Department to intensify efforts to combat drug smuggling and addiction. According to the survey report ‘Current Hard Drug Users in Nepal, 2013’ published by the Ministry of Home Affairs, most drug abusers were young men and women, and many died of overdose and excessive abuse.