Police seize huge cache of fake gemstones

Kathmandu, December 1

Police have arrested a group of thugs who were planning to swindle millions by selling fake gemstones.

Metropolitan Police Crime Division, Teku, has arrested five persons involved in illegal trade of fake gems.

The arrested have been identified as Nabaraj Khadka, 62, of Panauti Municipality, Kavre, Hari Khapung, 38, of Gauradaha Municipality, Jhapa, Yam Kumar Giri, 37, of Shivasatakshi Municipality, Jhapa, Lok Bahadur Sarki, 25, of Budhi Ganga Municipality, Morang and Bhim Bahadur Lama, 33, of Chandrapur Municipality, Rautahat.

Police officers at MPCD, who had received a tip-off about possible racketing of fake gems,  had called the fraudster posing as jeweller businesspersons to buy the stones.

Sahakul Bahadur Thapa, Senior Superintendent of Police at MPCD said the fraudsters had agreed to sell all their fake gemstones for three billion rupees on Friday. After the frauds were confident that the buyers were true jeweller businesspersons, they asked police to meet them at a place in Panauti of Kavre district for the deal. SSP Thapa said, police personnel in guise of businesspersons, were able to lure the fraudsters to show all cache of the gems they had secretly kept. “Our team then arrested them after being sure there were no any fake gemstones left,” Thapa said.

Police confiscated fake gemstones that resembled Ranka Moissanite, Kinetic gemstones, black stone, green diamond, ruby, topaz and blue sapphire. Police also seized an 18 carat gold ring attached with a fake gemstone. SSP Thapa said timely intervention had prevented the thugs from selling the duplicate gems to other persons for millions.