He left several women in the lurch promising them high-paying jobs in Iraq

Kathmandu, December 16

Police have arrested a man for his alleged involvement in international trafficking of women.

According to Metropolitan Police Crime Division, Gyalzen Sherpa, 38, of Sindhupalchowk district and currently residing in Lalitpur, had left several women in the lurch by promising them high-paying jobs in Iraq.

Sherpa was nabbed from Satdobato, Lalitpur, yesterday after one of the trafficking victims mustered up courage to file a complaint against him. He had promised her that she would earn more than Rs 100,000 a month in Iraq.

SSP Dibesh Lohani, MPCD in-charge, said Sherpa lured the victim with ‘good job opportunity in Iraq for women like her’. “Sherpa took the victim to Delhi of India through Bhairahawa on June 25, 2016 and turned her over to an agent there.” After spending three days in Delhi, the agent lured the woman to Sri Lanka promising that she would get visa for Iraq there.

In Colombo of Sri Lanka, she was left to fend for herself for around one month as the agent fled to somewhere else. Finally, she returned home from Colombo and filed a complaint with MPCD against Sherpa July 31, 2016. He has been charged with trafficking in persons. Shrepa will be liable to an imprisonment of up to 20 years along with a fine not exceeding Rs 200,000 if convicted.

As many as 6,100 women and children were reportedly trafficked from the country during the fiscal 2015-16, a report shows. The ‘Trafficking in persons’ National Report 2015/16 released by the National Human Rights Commission  showed that 98 per cent of the trafficking victims were women.

Police said most trafficking victims are lured by false promises of decent jobs and better lives abroad in the name of foreign employment. Key agents of smugglers comprise a range of individuals as well as agencies, including recruiting firms, education consultancies, marriage bureaus and cultural groups, among others.

Meanwhile, Nepal Police is planning to set up a separate Human Trafficking and Transportation Control Bureau. The bureau would be formed as part of the security body’s efforts to fight human trafficking, which had become a growing problem in the country. The plan also ensures trafficking victims greater access to services through capacity building of the law enforcement agency. It is the second largest criminal industry after drug trafficking in the world.

The latest US State Department 2017 Trafficking in Persons report states that Nepal is a major source, transit and destination country for men, women and children subjected to forced labour and sex trafficking. It also said that Nepali men women and girls are subjected to sex trafficking and forced labour in Nepal, India, the Middle East, Asia, United States and Sub Saharan Africa in construction, mines, factories, domestic work, begging and the adult entertainment industry.