BARA: Traders of the bordering districts in Eastern Nepal along with India have taken advantage of porous border in smuggling goods worth millions of late.

Chief District Officer Bijaya Narayan Manandhar has vowed to take stern actions after the complaints regarding smuggling of goods in the area have rose unexpectedly.

He also expressed surprise in Birgunj Custom's role for not actively operating five small customs in the area.

Five small customs under Birgung Custom in Matiawa, Kawahigot, Piparpati, Simrangard and Karchawa have remain closed most of the time citing lack of employees.

Locals have claimed that the traders in connection with police have been easily smuggling goods to Nepal via small customs in the border area.

"Despite seeing goods being opened smuggled on a daily basis to Nepal, police have turned blind eyes," local shared.

"Clothes, sugar, pulses, rice, edible oil, biscuits, cumins items are smuggled by both the Nepali and Indian smugglers daily via more than a dozen Nepali custom and police check post in the border."

The traders have been using Amawa and Satgunj of Devtal and Suvarna Rural Municipalities respectively to evade Nepal custom while smuggling goods from India.

The smuggled goods reach as far as Kaliya district headquarters of Bara district.

Speaking on anonymity, one of the locals informed that the smugglers in connection with the police easily evade custom and police check posts in the area. "Instead of stopping smuggling, police are supporting them in this crime."

However, police hassle and frisk belonging and bags of locals coming from India to Nepal, one of the locals lamented.

The locals have accused security agencies of taking bribe in evading customs and smuggling good to Nepal from India.

The 20 kilometer road stretch to Gajabhawanipur from Amawa and Satgunj have five police check posts in Kawaigoth, Benauli, South Jitaiwa, Bariyarpur.

Similarly, Armed Police Force have three check posts in Benauli, Kawaigoth and Majhariya in the district.

The local traders in the area have claimed that the smugglers bribe Rs 50,000---1,00,000 monthly to Police and APF camps in the area to evade small customs and security check posts.

It has been learned that the smuggled goods have started to roll out across Nepal.

Meanwhile, SP Raj Kuarm Baidwar at the Bara District Police has said information about police involvement in smuggling of goods is area is baseless and false.

However, he said the police have arrested the smugglers and handed over to the Custom office. He further said to take stern actions against those police found to be assisting smugglers in exchange of monetary value.