Deported Nepalis handed over to police for investigation into possible human trafficking
KATHMANDU, MARCH 6
The United States has deported eight undocumented Nepali nationals, who arrived in Kathmandu on a chartered flight early this morning. With this, the total number of Nepali nationals deported from the US has reached 37.
According to Rinji Sherpa, spokesperson for Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), the Gulfstream jet operated by Griffon Air, an American aviation company, landed at TIA at 10:15 AM. The aircraft carried 14 individuals, including the crew.
The chartered flight departed from Portsmouth International Airport in New Hampshire, USA, making a technical landing en route before arriving in Kathmandu. Following its arrival, Nepal's immigration authorities initiated the necessary legal procedures, spokesperson Sherpa stated. The aircraft is scheduled to return to the US via Albania at 3:00 PM on Thursday.
Since Donald Trump began his second term as US President, the United States has been regularly deporting undocumented Nepali nationals via international flights. However, this marks the first time Nepali nationals have been deported via a chartered flight.
The eight (seven male and one female) deported Nepalis have been handed over to Nepal Police's Anti-Human Trafficking Bureau on suspicion that they may have been victims of human trafficking. Authorities will interrogate them before handing them over to their families, according to immigration officials.
Additionally, another Nepali national was deported via a regular Qatar Airways flight and arrived in Kathmandu this morning, confirmed Immigration Officer Yagya Raj Aryal.
Prior to this, 27 Nepali nationals had already been deported from the US. "We completed the immigration process and handed them over to the authorities," Aryal told RSS, referring to the eight individuals who arrived on the chartered flight.
(With inputs from RSS)
