The arrest of 122 Chinese nationals in a single day proves that cross-border cyber and financial crimes are on the rise in recent times

In what appears to be one of the biggest raids, Nepal Police arrested as many as 122 Chinese nationals from various parts of the capital on Monday on suspicion of their involvement in illegal activities, cyber and financial crimes. Tipped off by the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu, they were rounded up from Manamaiju, Bansbari and Budhanilkantha areas between 1:00 pm and 7:00 pm. Police have also seized around 500 laptops and more than 150 mobile phones from their rented apartments. Police believe they were indulging in illegal activities, such as cyber and financial crimes. “Urgent arrest warrants” were issued by the Central Investigation Bureau of the Nepal Police in coordination with the Metropolitan Crime Division-Teku, Metropolitan Police Range-Ranipokhari and the police headquarters. Earlier, the Chinese Embassy had written a letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs about the entry of those Chinese people from the Philippines, Cambodia, Malaysia and Sri Lanka. The Foreign Ministry had immediately forwarded the letter to the Home Ministry, which instructed the police headquarters to take action. They are learnt to have fled the said countries after the governments started cracking down on them for indulging in hacking the banking systems there and in China. Preliminary investigation shows that all of the arrested had entered Nepal on a tourist or student visa.

The Kathmandu District Court will now decide whether to free or detain them for a few more days. Such a large number of Chinese nationals have been detained in a single day four months after six Chinese nationals were arrested in connection with the country’s biggest cyber heist in the banking sector, from where they had stolen at least Rs 35.8 million from the ATMs in Nepal and India. The police are yet to establish whether the new arrests have any connection with the old ones. The way they had rented the apartments at very high prices and used special identity cards to enter there shows they had bigger plans to commit cyber, financial crimes and engage in other illegal activities.

In recent times, Nepal has become a lucrative place to engage in cyber and financial crimes for international racketeers, who are taking advantage of the country’s security lapses. Despite Nepal Rasta Bank’s repeated notifications to the banks and financial institutions to upgrade their security system, they have not adhered to the instructions. Strong vigilance, especially at major tourist hubs, is a must to control cyber crimes, smuggling and drug trafficking. The law enforcement agency must make sure that no foreigner on a tourist or a student visa is involved in non-tourist activities. Others who overstay their visa should be booked and legal action taken against them. We also need to further strengthen mutual cooperation with our friendly countries when it comes to dealing with criminal activities. Their arrest would not have been possible without cooperation from China. At a press briefing in Beijing on Tuesday, a Chinese foreign ministry official confirmed the arrest of the Chinese nationals in Nepal. The official also confirmed that the action was taken under mutual cooperation between the two countries.

Inhumane behaviour

There was a time when buffaloes were made to trek hundreds of miles from the Tarai plains to the Kathmandu Valley before being slaughtered for meat. They no longer walk, but the conditions under which they are transported in trucks from one place to another are simply harsh. The Supreme Court, following its verdict on February 11 on a writ petition demanding the government prohibit people from transporting domesticated animals and birds in an inhumane and cruel manner, had directed the government to enact the Animal Welfare Act. However, animals continue to be transported for more than eight hours without food in crammed trucks, with the government remaining a mute spectator.

It must be difficult for the government to implement the legal provision on animals, knowing fully well how even humans must fare in our overcrowded public vehicles. The inhumane way of transporting animals is only half the story, the savagery with which they are slaughtered deserves even greater attention. If we are to live in a civilised world, we must look after the welfare of not only humans but also that of animals. The sooner the government acts, the sooner it will help ease the pangs of the animals.