Drug traffickers active in Kavre district again

Kavre, March 10

Drug traffickers have started becoming active in Kavre again.

Recently, on March 1, police arrested 32-year-old Subhadra Timalsina from her rented apartment in Panauti Municipality with 279 Nitravet-10 tablets. The banned tablets were hidden inside a cupboard and were apparently meant to be sold to drug users.

According to Banepa Area Police Office Inspector Yogendra Timalsina, this is the first time police seized illegal drugs in the district this fiscal.

“In fact, we haven’t had any report of smuggling of illegal drugs in the district since the last time such an incident came to light more than a year ago. The recent incident, however, shows that drug smugglers have started becoming active once again,” said the inspector.

Prior to the recent incident, police had, on 31 December 2018, arrested Saroj Kumar Meheta of Susari’s Gadhi Rural Municipality and Indian national Manoj Kumar Meheta with 750 Nitravet-10 tablets during security check while they were coming to Banepa from Biratnagar.

Just a few days later, police, acting on tip-offs, arrested seven other persons with 82 packs of Nitravet-10 tablets from different places.

After they arrested Tanahun’s Uttam Karki, 24, and Khotang’s Ashish Thapa, 25, with 50 packs of tablets from Sanga, Banepa, police, acting on the duo’s statement, arrested two other persons in Morang with 25 more packs. The same night, three other persons of Banepa and Mahottari were held with seven packs of Nitravet-10 tablets.

As per the police report, most of the dug smuggling in the district is happening via the BP Highway. “As BP highway is the shortest route, smugglers seem to have chosen this route to run their racket,” said Kavre district police chief Rabi Kumar Poudel, adding that the drugs thus brought from India are sold in Banepa, Kathmandu and nearby places.

According to police data, some 32 drug-related cases have been filed in the district in the past four years. Sixty-one persons have been arrested in connection with these cases. Most of them are said to be working as brokers for the contraband.