HETAUDA: As many as five persons including three Indian nationals were held in possession of a huge cache of illegal drugs from assorted locations in Hetauda of Makwanpur district.

The alleged drug smugglers were made public along with the seized hashish at the District Police Office, Makwanpur, in Hetuada today, police said.

Police intercepted a car with Indian registration (HR 51 L 5241) and arrested four persons including a driver and seized 21.5-kilograms of hashish hidden under the driver's seat during a routine security check at Ratomate in Hetauda-15 on Tuesday.

DPO identified the arrestees as Indian nationals Mukesh Sahani, Raj Kumar, and Om Prakash Chaudhary of Motihari district in Bihar State, India, and Nepali national Jitendra Prasad Yadav of Parsa district.

Likewise, police also arrested Puran Sah of Saptari district in possession of 81.7 kilograms of the illegal drug from Palase in Raksirang Rural Municipality in the district on Monday.

According to the chief at Makwanpur DPO, Superintendent of Police (SP) Mukesh Kumar Singh, the alleged smuggler Sah was apprehended while waiting for a bus in the area.

Meanwhile, an investigation is underway into the case, SP Singh said.