Truck-owner held for investigation

Kathmandu, June 10:

A police team from the Metropolitan Police Sector, Swoyambhu, seized 7,380kg of red sandalwood from Thulobharyang, Swoyambhu, last night.

According to Surendra Mainali, an inspector at the police sector, the police had been keeping vigil on a container-truck bearing registration number Na 2 Kha 1116 that had been parked at Thulobharyang since Friday.

“Acting on an intelligence report, we took a truck staffer, Kumar Lama, under control and interrogated him,” Mainali said. “Upon inspecting the truck, we found 7,380kg of red sandalwood,” Mainali further said.

We also recovered a fake short-machine gun from the cabin of the truck, he said.

“During interrogation, Lama confessed that he was the owner of the truck. Investigations are underway,” Mainali said.

According to him, the truck-owner himself might have been involved in smuggling.

The police handed over the seized truck, red sandalwood and Lama to the District Forest Office, Kathmandu. According to the forest office, about 100 tonnes of red sandalwood has

been seized in the valley in course of two months. In recent days, cadres of the Young Communist League have also caught hold of smugglers of red sandalwood and handed them over to the police.