By A Staff Reporter
Kathmandu, Aug. 25: The police have arrested a man en-route to Doha, Qatar with 800 gram of cannabis from the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) on Tuesday.
The Metropolitan Police Airport Security Office identified the individual as 29-year-old Buddhi Raj Pathak.

Pathak, a resident of Chitwan, had arrived at the airport to board the flight of Qatar Airways at around 10:30 am. He was arrested when the authorities checked his luggage at the Hold Baggage Checking Area in the international departure zone of the airport.

The arrest is said to be made by the officers of the Narcotics Control Bureau's (NCB) branch at the TIA.
"The officers overlooking the screening of passengers’ luggage are well trained to identify small clues of drugs and gold. Officers also monitor the behaviour of suspected individuals. This was how the cannabis hidden by Pathak was identified," said Superintendent of Police (SP) Jeevan Shrestha.

According to the statement by the Office, the cannabis was hidden inside sealed bottles of an ayurvedic medicine for gastritis produced by Kathmandu-based Sagarmatha Ayurvedic Medicine Industry. The NCB officers informed that they were investigating further into the case as they suspected more individuals were involved alongside Pathak.
"Cannabis, along with opium, is produced in Nepal, due to which it is readily available for Nepalis to smuggle. Some even try to smuggle it abroad like in the case of Pathak. Further investigation into the matter has started in full pace," SP Shrestha said.

The only operational international airport in Nepal, TIA, has been a transit for drug smugglers – both Nepalis and foreigners – since long. Authorities have arrested several individuals over the years on charge of drugs smuggling. They, however, say such smuggling has been curbed in recent years thanks to the travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition to cannabis, cocaine and heroine are also smuggled via TIA, the police informed. In 2016, over 10 kg of cocaine was confiscated from over half-a-dozen foreigners at the TIA.