Kathmandu, December 20

Police arrested two persons with 248 grams of gold they collected from returnee Nepali migrant workers at Tribhuvan International Airport yesterday.

Security officials said Bikram Pokharel, 23, of Lalbandi Municipality-5, Sarlahi, and Binod Kandel, 27, of Phalebas Municipality-11, Parbat, had allegedly used migrant workers returning from Gulf countries to carry permissible amount of gold, promising them a high wage.

According to Central Police News Section, Pokharel was caught in the act of collecting 149 grams of gold and three laptops from three migrant workers. He is suspected to

be colluding with foreign-based racketeers active in sending gold in small consignments through returnee migrant workers. The gold seized from him was in the form

of bracelets.

Two golden bracelets weighing 99 grams were confiscated from Kandel. Unlike Pokharel, Kandel, who is himself a migrant worker, had arrived in Kathmandu from Dubai. Police said he had asked one of his co-workers to carry one golden bracelet for him. He was held from the parking area of Tribhuvan International Airport during security screening.

Both of them have been handed over to Tribhuvan International Airport Customs Office for further investigation and legal action. An overseas returnee is allowed to carry gold up to 50 grams in the form of ornament. However, racketeers have been misusing this provision by making migrant workers to carry permissible quantity of gold as ornament.

Generally, racketeers pay wage of around Rs 6,000 to each migrant worker for carrying home 50 grams of gold, police investigators said. In some cases, migrant workers are paid by the racketeers from the Gulf via wire after the consignment of gold is received by the concerned person in Nepal.

Smuggling and illegal trade of gold is rife in the country. As many as 110 persons were arrested with 123.9 kilograms of undeclared gold from different parts of the country, including Tribhuvan International Airport, in the 2018-19. Monetary value of the seized gold is around Rs 444.5 million.

According to Nepal Police, the law enforcement agency had stepped up action against persons involved in gold smuggling and illegal trade, transaction and sale of the precious yellow metal by maintaining greater vigil against the suspects. Security and customs officials are on high alert to respond to newer modes of smuggling adopted by gold smugglers.