Rautahat, May 8

A youth who was held in possession of 1.5 kg smuggled gold was released today on a bail amount of Rs 7.2 million in Rautahat.

Arjun Singh of Gaur Municipality-13 was held with the yellow metal from Ratomato of Makawanpur during regular police checking on May 4. After his arrest, he was sent to Revenue Office Pathlaiya for further investigation.

Gyanendra Dhakal, chief at the revenue office, said he was released on bail after investigation showed that he was being used as a carrier to ferry the gold.

According to sources at the revenue office, gold entrepreneurs in Gaur were using Singh as a carrier to smuggle the yellow metal from Kathmandu.

A source claimed that the gold seized from Singh belonged to Bijaya Sonar, an Indian national, who has been residing in Gaur.

Sonar had obtained Nepali citizenship a few years back and was involved in smuggling gold for the past four years, informed sources.

Sources said each carrier was provided with Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000 for smuggling one kg gold from Kathmandu to India.

A gold entrepreneur, requesting anonymity, said many unemployed youths were attracted to gold smuggling as it gave them a huge return.