Kathmandu, June 23:

Narcotic Drug Control Law Enforcement Unit (NDCLEU) on Friday seized 1.8 kg of methamphetamine from Iranian national Farzad Amaniyat Doust at the Tribhuvan International Airport, police said. The contraband was seized for the first time in Nepal, according to the NDCLEU.

The anti-drug body said that the Iranian national was arrested when the police carried out a regular check at the departure terminal. Doust was scheduled to fly on a Quatar Airways flight to Doha.

“The production and smuggling of the narcotic, which is defined as ‘ICE’ in the world of narcotics, is rapidly growing in the world and the seizure is the first of its kind in Nepal,” a press release issued by the NDCLEU stated.

Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Police Crime Division yesterday arrested five persons from different parts of the valley on the charge of involvement in a series of robbery. Those arrested include Sher Bahadur Kathayat, 27, of Kailali, Som Bahadur lama, 34, of Makawanpur, Manoj Lama, 30, of Kavre, Jhilke Lama, 30, of Makawanpur and Phulman Syangtan, 22, of Makawanpur, police said today. The police said they had also seized a pistol, seven bullets, Rs 94,690 cash and other valuables from them. The crime division also arrested Ramesh Lama alias Chinese, 26, of Sindhapalchowk and Krishna Bahadur Khadka alias Anil, 26, of Morang yesterday, on the charge of kidnapping a girl.

According to the division, seven people led by Lama and Khadka, who came on motorbikes had kidnapped Kanchan Gautam while she was shopping with her mother Kamala at Kathmandu Mall on June 11. Kamala was able to escape from their captivity on June 12. Five other persons involved in the kidnapping have been still absconding, police said.

Meanwhile, Muna Lama, 24 of Sindhuli was held today on the charge of cheating valuables from locals in Basantapur. Lama and her friends intoxicated people by offering them with cold drinks and fruits laced with drugs before robbing them of valuables, the police said.