Kathmandu, Mar. 13: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has arrested a total of 11 individuals involved in smuggling, trade and consumption of heroin, an illegal opioid drug made from morphine.
The individuals played different roles in smuggling the brown-powder heroin from India to Kathmandu via Jhapa. An Armed Police Force (APF) member deployed in Jhapa has also been arrested for facilitating the cross-border smuggling.

According to a press release by the NCB on Friday, the 11 individuals were arrested from different places of Kathmandu and Jhapa within a span of 22 days.
The bureau, at first, had nabbed 25-year-old Lal Bahadur Budhathoki from Budhanilkantha in Kathmandu on February 7 with 100-milligram heroin.
When police investigated the source of the heroin, 25-year-old Kaushal Basnet was found to be supplying the drug to Budhathoki.

Kaushal, a local of Dolakha, too lived in Budhanilkantha. He was arrested on the same day alongside his aide Samir Ghale Gurung, 33.
The bureau then started searching for the individuals providing the drug to Kaushal and Samir.

“Kaushal bought brown heroin from Anjan Rai and sold it by himself and through Samir,” the press release read.
When the bureau found out about Anjan, a 24-year-old from Jhapa, he was arrested the next day, on February 8, from Budhanilkantha. He was arrested with 23-year-old Sanjay Laksamba Limbu, who is also from Jhapa and a partner of Anjan, with 7.5-gram heroin.

The two more arrests then led the bureau to Ajay Tamang aka Karma. Karma also hailed from Jhapa and was the person supplying the brown powder to Anjan. He was arrested from a guest house in Dhumbarahi, Kathmandu, on February 9, with 294-gram heroin.

After Karma’s arrest, the NCB’s Kakadvitta branch, in Jhapa, arrested 28-year-old Pukar Gurung, a local, from Birtamode area on the same day.
Anjan used to send money to Pukar to buy heroin through Sanjay's account. Pukar, a mediator, then used to provide the money to 30-year-old Prabin Bhandari, a resident of Birtamode.
Prabin was the major supplier of heroin which reached several consumers in Kathmandu through the racket. He used to buy heroin from Siliguri, India.

“Prabin provided the heroin smuggled via India to Anjan through Karma. He was arrested on February 9 from Birtamode by a joint team of NCB’s Kakadvitta branch and Anarmani Area Police,” the press release read.
However, Kaushal was found to be procuring and selling the drug in Kathmandu from others as well.

The second modus-operandi through which Kaushal received the drug led the NCB to 28-year-old Sunil Tajpuriya, a local of Damak, Jhapa. He was arrested on February 10.
After Sunil, the bureau arrested an Indian national identified as 31-year-old Shyamlal Singh aka Shyam. He hailed from Darjeeling.

“Sunil and Shyam were also the members of the racket including Prabin and others,” said Superintendent of Police (SP) Jeevan Kumar Shrestha.
Shyam was arrested from Birtamode while he was in an Indian car (WB 74 AL 8384) on February 13. He was the one through whom Sunil was receiving heroin from India.
However, there was a mediator between Sunil and Shyam: an APF officer identified as 39-year-old Khagendra Bhujel.

Khagendra, an APF Head Constable, was deployed in APF, Nepal No. 2 Battalion Headquarters in Jhapa. Khagendra used to buy heroin for Sunil from Shyam which then reached Kaushal.
“The APF officer was found involved on the basis of information gathered from the arrested individuals,” said SP Shrestha, who is also the spokesperson for NCB.
The data provided by Nepal Police Mirror shows that 2.5-kg heroin was seized in 2019/20. That figure rose to 88.60 kg in 2020/21.

“Heroin smuggling takes place not only from Jhapa but through several border points with India. It reaches various parts of the country through different groups,” said SP Shrestha.
The NCB also arrested four other individuals with 29.0100 gram brown heroin from Kathmandu on Thursday.

SP Shrestha informed that the bureau had been investigating to find the source of drugs and other people involved even when only one individual, be it a user, got arrested. “This way of investigation has led to the arrests of additional individuals and seizure of more drugs,” he said.
The smugglers have been selling heroin at a rate of Rs. 8,000 to Rs. 12,000 per gram.

Cases have been filed against the 11 individuals under Narcotics Drug (Control) Act, 1976 (2033) and further investigation is underway, the bureau stated.
Anyone doing transaction of heroin or other drugs prepared from opium or coca up to 25 grams is liable for an imprisonment for 5 to 10 years. The punishment ranges up to life imprisonment for those held with over 100 grams of the drug.