Kathmandu, March 13

The Central Investigation Bureau of Nepal Police arrested six persons for their involvement in smuggling gold from Dubai into Nepal and selling it to Kathmandu-based jewellery stores and in India.

Sashikala Gurung, 33, of Baglung; Saroj KC, 43, of Kathmandu; Hom Bahadur Budhathoki, 38, of Jhapa; Jeevan Shakya, 35, of Kavre; Biju Bajracharya, 35, of Bhaktapur and Yogesh Magar, 20, of Maharashtra, India, were nabbed from different places of Kathmandu yesterday.

SP Jeevan Kumar Shrestha, CIB spokesperson, said they were found smuggling gold into Kathmandu by concealing the precious metal in the cavity of electric hair straightening irons. The modus operandi came to light after Budhathoki, who arrived in Kathmandu from Dubai yesterday, managed to cross the TIA customs point with the undeclared gold and boarded a car in Sinamangal. Police found 15 tola gold in the cavity of hair straightening irons.

SP Shrestha informed that Gurung’s husband had sent the consignment of the gold using Budhathoki as a carrier. Gurung and KC used to receive the gold smuggled by Gurung’s husband and sell it in jewellery shops.

Shakya and Bajracharya are jewellers and were found to have bought smuggled gold many times. CIB has also confiscated 129 tola gold from jewellery shops owned by Shakya and Bajracharya. SP Shrestha said investigation was under way to crack the smuggling racket.