Kathmandu, November 25:

The Narcotic Drug Control Law Enforcement Unit (NDCLEU) yesterday arrested the allegedly notorious drug peddler Raju Lama (Tamang), alias ‘Nagaraj’, with huge amount of narcotics.

Police said Lama was one of the most wanted drug peddlers for the past two years, but he was evading arrest in the absence of tangible evidence. “We were following him for the past two years,” said DSP Sushil Bhandari at the NDCLEU, adding: “This is the second largest amount of drugs ever seized in the country.”

Bhandari, however, couldn’t give details about the highest ever seizure made by the NDCLEU.

Lama was arrested along with 6,800 Buprenorphine injections — 3,800 pieces from his rented room in Narephat, and Jadibuti, and 3,000 additional pieces from another room in Baneshwor.

Police also recovered Rs 113,000 and 5,700 Indian currency along with six mobile sets and two pagers. Lama, a resident of Hetauda Municipality-3, used to shift his room time to time. But the police were constantly on the look-out for him. “His arrest is surely an achievement and we are hopeful to reach his network through him,” said Bhandari. According to Bhandari, Lama is one of the drug wholesalers in the capital.