Kathmandu, January 20

The Central Investigation Bureau of Nepal Police arrested seven persons with 15 kilograms of undeclared hallmark gold smuggled into Nepal via Nepal-China boarder of Rashuwagadhi on August 30.

CIB officials raided a house in Samakhusi and confiscated the precious yellow metal. Police investigation showed that the final destination of the gold was India. On September 4, Metropolitan Police Crime Division seized 88 kg gold from a vehicle and arrested its driver from Chhetrapati. Police said an investigation was on to track down a Chinese couple — Wan Wei Ming, 50, and his wife Yang Wei Wing — believed to be the mastermind behind the gold smuggling. It was the single biggest seizure of illegal gold by Nepal Police.

The gold was smuggled into Nepal from China via Rasuwagadhi-Kerung border point by evading customs. On December 2, police arrested a person with 17 kg undeclared gold allegedly smuggled to Nepal from China. The gold was concealed in a false compartment inside the exhaust pipe of a motorcycle he was riding in Balaju.

According to police statistics, the law enforcement has seized around 111 kg illegal gold as of the month of Asoj of this fiscal. However, police have failed to nab the alleged masterminds of the smuggling rackets.

Asked why police usually arrested ‘gold carriers’ but failed to get into the top layer of the smuggling racket, a police official said, “There are many unseen hands behind transnational smuggling of contraband like gold and drugs, and it is rare to hit the top operatives working from abroad, mainly China. But we keep making efforts to reach them through our foreign counterparts.”

Some ‘high-profile’ jewellers in Kathmandu are also under scanner in connection with the case and police have already arrested five such suspects for investigation. According to police, most of the smuggled gold enters Nepal through Tatopani of Sindhupalchowk and Rasuwagadhi of Rasuwa from Hong Kong and China via Tibet while the gold entering from the TIA mainly comes from Dubai, Thailand and Malaysia.

A larger share of smuggled gold are pushed into India through the porous border by making Nepal its transit. The government imposes a customs duty of Rs 420,000 per kg gold while selling it to jewellers through commercial banks. The smugglers bring in gold through the back doors to evade tax.