Biratnagar, April 24:

Smuggling of goods has been on the rise due to the lack of sufficient security patrols at the checkpoints under the Biratnagar customs office.

The cases of smuggling are on the rise after the government deployed the Armed Police Force personnel for election duty since March 20. Earlier, APF used to patrol the checkpoints to control smuggling. After the APF was deployed for election, Nepal Army has been guarding the premises of the customs office. However, the NA guards only the Biratnagar customs office and will do so till mid-May, a source said.

The source at the Biratnagar customs office said goods worth Rs 5 crore are estimated to have been smuggled through the checkpoints since the regular revenue patrols of the APF were halted.

Clothes, hardware items and electronics are the items which are smuggled in bulk. The smuggling went up as the NA does not have the authority to seize the smuggled goods. The customs administration has not been able to control smuggling due to the lack of security even though smuggling takes place right under its nose, the source said.

“We are not able to control the smuggling due to the lack of security,” said chief of the customs office Shyam Dahal. No smuggled good has been seized in the past one month, the office said, adding that goods worth Rs 130,000 were seized in Falgun.