RAUTAHAT, SEPTEMBER 21
Rautahat Police have seized a pickup truck carrying 334 kilograms of marijuana from Motipur, in Ishnath Municipality along the Nepal–India border.
According to a statement from the District Police Office, a patrol team led by Assistant Inspector Amod Safi from the Rampurkhap police post intercepted the vehicle (Province 3–01–022 Cha 1861) around 8 p.m. Saturday on the Ishnath-8 Motipur road. The vehicle, heading toward Jatahi, was stopped on the roadside, but the driver fled the scene.
District Police spokesperson Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Raju Karki said the truck's upper layer was loaded with 20 sacks of cauliflower, but an inspection revealed 26 concealed sacks of marijuana-like contraband weighing 334 kilograms. A search for the absconding driver is underway, police said.
DSP Karki noted that smugglers appear to have taken advantage of a reduced police presence and morale during the recent Gen Z protests. He added that heightened vigilance and immediate checks of suspicious vehicles led to the large seizure.
Police sources said traffickers have been using border points such as Rampurkhap, Mathiya, Latamari and Mahuliya to smuggle drugs into India, often concealing contraband in vegetable-laden pickups from Makwanpur. Authorities believe intensified inspections of such vehicles are key to curbing the trade.
