Nepal Police thwarts foreign currency smuggling attempt to China, confiscate thousands of USD, Euro
Kathmandu [Nepal], March 18 (ANI): The Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation Office has thwarted an attempt to smuggle thousands of US dollars and Euros to China, a record seizure in the history of the Himalayan country, as per officials.
Crime Investigation Office under the Nepal Police on Tuesday announced that foreign currency worth approximately NRS 250 million was confiscated from a freight truck bound for Rasuwa, bordering China.
On the night of March 17, a team from Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation Office recovered the amount from the vehicle bearing number Na 7 Kha 1652 and detained the driver.
“Upon investigation, we found a false button on the upper-side of the vehicles bonnet. From there we retrieved bundles wrapped with plastic tapes, it was suspected that money was wrapped properly using the tapes to hide it clandestinely. We confiscated it all; upon counting it were a total of 60 bundles and then we untapped the bundles and found Euros and US Dollars,” Kaji Kumar Acharya, Spokesperson at the Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation Office told ANI.
The back of the truck, however, was empty.
“We counted the money, and it amounted to 25 Crore 19 Lakh 24 Thousand 950 Nepali rupees, originally they were Euro and US Dollars. There are no Nepali rupees but only the foreign currencies,” Acharya briefed ANI.
The bundles contained 3,119 banknotes in US dollars denominations of one hundred, 179 banknotes in US Dollars denominations of fifty, 11 banknotes in Euro denominations of five hundred, 480 banknotes in Euro denominations of two hundred, 4,148 banknotes in Euro denominations of one hundred, and 17 thousand 177 banknotes in Euro denominations of fifty.
“We are continuing the investigation. When asked about who had handed over the task to deliver it, he said he don’t know it and he has been assigned to take the truck to take it to Rasuwagadhi and then hand it over to another person who will then drive it to Kerung, a designated person who has the authority to drive the vehicle to there. We have uncovered it in the preliminary investigation and furthermore will be uncovered in the next phase,” Acharya also, the Superintendent of Police, told ANI.
The Police named the arrested individual as Kushang Lama from Bhotekoshi Rural Municipality of Sindhupalchowk district, who also was presented before the media, followed by a press conference. As per the police record, Lama previously served five years in prison in a gold smuggling case and was out a few years back.
According to the official, the arrested person will be turned over to the Department of Revenue Investigation for further investigation.
Incidents of Chinese criminals using Nepal as a transit point for cross-border crimes have continued to rise, with transformation in the mode and means of carrying out the criminal activities. This not only has become a headache for Nepal Police but also has the potential to turn Nepal into a fertile land for Chinese nationals to plot, plan, and execute their plans.
The Police suspect that the foreign currencies which were being smuggled to China is to smuggle gold into the Himalayan Nation. Chinese criminals previously used to carry out illegal activities, especially the import of precious yellow metals from the Tataopani border that joins Nepal with China faced back due to the Earthquake of 2015. The smugglers now have re-routed Rasuwa’s Kerung and sometimes try to pass on through the Tribhuwan International Airport.
Despite increased instances and involvement of Chinese in various criminal activities, Nepal has yet to take this issue to a higher level.
