Himalayan News Service

Kathmandu, March 11:

International cooperation has resulted in increased narcotics-related indictments in Nepal and also abroad even as customs and border controls remain weak, according to a report of the US Department of State on South Asia. “Heroin from Southwest and Southeast Asia is smuggled into Nepal across the open border with India and through Kathmandu’s international airport,” it stated. An increase in the use of Nepali couriers, apprehended by the police, suggests that more and more Nepalis are getting involved in trafficking narcotics, and peddling these. It has also pointed to the ongoing Maoist insurgency’s impact on the rule of law and interdiction efforts in many parts of the country. Claiming that the Maoist guerrillas are involved in drug smuggling to finance their insurgency, the report has quoted Nepal’s Narcotics Drug Control Law Enforcement Unit (NDCLEU) that “Maoists levy a 40 percent tax on cannabis production in certain areas.”

Citing police, the report has confirmed that the production of cannabis is on the rise in southern Nepal. It has also pointed to the fact that most of the produce is aimed at the Indian market. Police have often intercepted up to 285 kg of the locally-produced hashish en route to India. Although Nepal is neither a significant producer of, nor a major transit route for narcotic drugs, cannabis, hashish and heroin are trafficked to and through Nepal every year. According to the report, “Abuse of locally-grown and wild cannabis and locally-produced hashish, marketed in freelance operations, remains widespread.” The NDCLEU seized nearly double the amount of hashish in 2004 as compared to that in 2003. NDCLEU reported it seized 75.2 kilograms of hashish and 1.165 kilograms of heroin at Tribhuvan Inaternational Airport in 2004. No opium was seized in 2004. Seizures of heroin decreased, and the absolute quantity (a total of approximately 7 kilograms) remained small. Most seizures of heroin and hashish in 2004 occurred within Kathmandu or at TIA as passengers left Nepal.

Seizures of illicit and legal, but illegally held pharmaceuticals also increased in 2004. “The arrests of Nepali couriers in other countries suggest that Nepalis are becoming more involved in trafficking both as couriers and as pedlars, and that Nepal may be increasingly used as a transit point for destinations in South and South East Asia, as well as Europe (Spain, the Netherlands and Switzerland).” The NDCLEU has also identified the United States as a final destination for some drugs transiting Nepal, typically routed through Bangkok.