KATHMANDU: Central Investigation Bureau of Nepal Police arrested three persons and made them public today for their alleged involvement in making fake mountain climbing permits.

The CIB identified the arrestees as Nivesh Karki, chief of the law department at Seven Summit Treks, Furtenji Sherpa, marketing manager, and Bijayshwor Aryal, an accountant at the same organisation.

They had prepared fake mountain climbing permits by duplicating the permits taken by foreigners from the Tourism Department. Likewise, they had made 14 fake permits for Chinese and Australian citizens, according to police.

The investigation to this was initiated after the Mt Everest pollution control committee found the same dates and permit numbers in the permits borne by different people.

Among the fake-permit carrying climbers, two were foreigners -- an Australian and a Chinese.

According to police, the investigation revealed that the three arrested persons had shared US dollar 22,000 after providing fake permits to foreign Everest climbers.

Karki was held from Thamel and Aryal from Maharajgunj of Kathmandu, while Sherpa from Sankhuwasabha district.