Altogether, 10 people, including a Chinese national have been arrested
KATHMANDU, JULY 20
Ten people, including a Chinese national, were arrested in relation to the smuggling of nearly 100 kilograms gold that passed out of Tribhuvan International Airport's customs without being detected on the night of July 18.
Initially, the authorities had arrested seven people, but late tonight, they arrested three more persons. Of the arrested are Rajan Shrestha, Krishna Shrestha and Pushkar Raj Bhatta. The Shrestha duo was apprehended from Koteswor in Kathmandu while Bhatta who operates a trading business was arrested from the customs office at TIA This huge haul of gold washidden inside motorbike brake shoes and shaving razor blades brought as cargo. The goods were imported to Kathmandu from Hong Kong via Cathay Pacific. Intriguingly, the racketeers were able to pass such a large amount of the precious yellow metal through the customs office where every imported good needs to go through gold detectors and careful manual check.
Officials of Department of Revenue Investigation, acting on a tip off, were able to confiscate the gold, after it was cleared by customs.
Authorities seized the gold after it was loaded inside a taxi, which was about to leave the premises of the customs office.
Authorities, with the sup-port of Armed Police Force arrested the operators of Ready Traders Deepak Bhujel and Ram Kumar Bhujel, the importer of the brake shoes, after confiscating the gold.
Similarly, customs agent Rajendra Rai and taxi driver Ashok Lama were also arrested the same night.
Yesterday, authorities arrested Indian nationals Thapten Tshiring and Harka Raj Rai in connection with the racket.
Similarly, a Chinese national Chuwan Lin who is said to be the main person behind the racket was also apprehended this afternoon from the TIA's terminal while trying to leave the country. He had came to Nepal around seven months ago, as per Rajendra Khadka Senior Superintendent of APF.
The confiscated gold, along with the brake shoes, have been sent to Nepal Rastra Bank where the authorities will separate the gold from the materials and calculate the actual amount of gold. Police sources said that the sealed gold attached to the brake shoes weighed 155 kilograms, however, the actual weight can be verified only after separating the gold from other materials.
Meanwhile, Patan High Court today sent all the arrested in the case to 10 days of judicial custody.
In Nepal, no one is allowed to bring in more than 50 grams of gold without paying customs.
A scam like this has created ripple in Nepali society, as many criticise the authorities for failing to curb irregularities.
A version of this article appears in the print on July 21, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
