Police seizes 88 kg illegal gold from Chhetrapati (Photo Feature)

KATHMANDU, Sept 4: A squad from the Metropoliitan Crime Division, Hanumandhoka has seized 88 kilograms of illegal gold from a parked vehicle from the Chhetrapati area Monday morning. Police have also arrested Manoj Adhikari, 24, of Makwanpur Gadhi Rural Municipality, Makwanpur district, along with the illegal gold, said Division Senior Superintendent of Police, Diwesh Lohani.

Acting on a tip-off, the Metropolitan squad had held the vehicle with number plate Ba 17 Cha 6427 at around 2 am in the morning.

The Division shared information about this through a press meet this afternoon.

At the press meet, Lohani, said the gold was brought into Kathmandu via Kerung transit along the Nepal-China border in Rasuwa. Further investigations are on and the hand of Chinese national (s) has been suspected in its smuggling as it was entered the country via the Kerung point.

Division Chief Lohani said the Division was investigating whether there is any link between the gold smuggler involved in the smuggling of the 22 kilogrammes gold that the Central Investigation Bureau of Nepal Police busted some days back and the latest gold smuggling incident.

“Not only one or two people, a big group is involved in the smuggling of gold. We will nab them at the earliest,” SSP Lohani said.

A team led by Superintendent Narendra Prasad Upreti confiscated the gold. Before this, the CIB had seized 22 kilogrammes of gold a week ago and 33 kilogrammes gold in December 2016.

Likewise, a CIB team has arrested three persons along with illegal mobile and cloth. The arrests were made from Swoyambhu and the arrestees had brought these goods from India to Kathmandu by evading customs.

Those arrested in this connection are Bal Bahadur Dawadi, a bus driver from Sarlahi district, Jitendra Dangol of Kathmandu and co-driver Pasang Lama of Dolakha.
Police seized 134 unitsof mobile phones of various companies, 1613 pieces of cloth for Kurta tops, 37 pieces of frocks, 101 pairs of cotton pants, 19 pieces of Lehenga, 37 pieces of Kurta Suruwal and 12 pieces of parallel trousers from them.

Photos: Mukunda Kalikote