Kathmandu, June 28 :

Police at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) last night seized a hefty sum of contraband cash concealed in a cargo consignment. Police said cash amounting to Indian Rs 5,900,000 in two suitcases was seized.

According to Prakash Kunwar, Senior Superintendent of Police at TIA, a Nepali national staying in Bangkok had sent the cargo consignment to Kathmandu on Thai Airlines. Kunwar, however, declined to disclose the names of the sender and receiver. Police have already sent the contraband cash to the revenue office at TIA. “The cash was concealed under the false bottom of the suitcases. There were dominations of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 in the suitcase. It is still unclear whether the notes are genuine. The revenue office is yet to clarify on this score,” Kunwar said, adding that the cargo was seized when police carried out regular checks at the arrival section of the TIA.

Kunwar said that the cases have now been handed over to the Kathmandu District Police Office for further investigation. “We have provided the name and mobile number of the receiver,” he added.

“The receiver arrived at TIA this morning. But, he ran away after he came to know that police have seized the consignment,” a police official at TIA said. “The person surnamed Khadka stays at New Road,” he added.