By Nayak Paudel
Kathmandu, Feb. 16: The Narcotics Control Bureau of the Nepal Police has arrested nine smugglers with drugs from different places of the valley in a week.
Making the arrested smugglers public at a press conference organised at the bureau on Sunday, authorities informed that they confiscated 222 grams Amphetamine, 2,470 ampoules of different pharmaceutical drugs and Rs. 90,500.
Among the nine smugglers, the bureau had arrested two individuals on February 3 from Teku. The duo has been identified as Dukha Kumar Yadav, 28, and Arvind Mukhiya, 19, both from Rautahat district.
They were arrested from the roadside at Teku with 100 ampoules of Buprenorphine, 100 ampoules of Diazepam and 100 ampoule Phenergan. When the authorities raided Yadav’s room in Lalitpur, the authorities further confiscated 900 ampoules of Buprenorphine, Diazepam and Phenergan.
It was on February 7 when the bureau arrested two other smugglers. Chij Kumar Gurung, 38, a resident of Gorkha, was arrested with 10 grams Amphetamine from the roadside in Tokha. Upon searching Gurung’s room in the same area, police further confiscated 212 grams of Amphetamine and a digital beam balance.
Likewise, another smuggler arrested on February 7 has been identified as Gopal Niraula, 25, a resident of Sunsari. Niraula was arrested from Dallu with 98 ampules of Buprenorphine, 108 ampoules of Diazepam and 129 ampoules of Phenergan.
Similarly, on February 8, the bureau arrested five more smugglers from different parts of Kathmandu. The first individual arrested among the five has been identified as Man Bahadur Tamang, 32, a resident of Sindhupalchok. Tamang was arrested from Teku with five ampoules each of Buprenorphine, Diazepam and Phenergan.
“The remaining four smugglers belong to the same racket and were arrested from different parts of Kathmandu on the same day,” said Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Dilip Kumar Choudhary, chief at the Narcotics Control Bureau.
The bureau begun the busting of the racket with the arrest of an Indian national identified as Govinda Poddar, 30. Poddar is a resident from Bihar State and was arrested from Lagantole, an area in Ward 29 of Kathmandu Metropolitan City. He was arrested with 12 ampules Buprenorphine, 11 ampules Diazepam and nine ampoules Phenergan.
Following Poddar’s arrest, the bureau reached Subash Shrestha, 33, an accomplice of Poddar. Shrestha, a resident of Kavre, was arrested from his rented room in Kirtipur with 209 ampoules of Buprenorphine, 187 ampoules of Diazepam, 141 ampoules of Phenergan and Rs. 50,500 cash.
After Shrestha, the bureau arrested two women who worked with Poddar and Shrestha. The same day of the arrest of the duo, police arrested Kamala Lama, 40, with 32 ampoules of Buprenorphine, 191 ampoules of Diazepam, 50 ampoules of Lupigesic and Rs. 40,000 from Nayabazar.
Similarly, Sita Ranamagar, 36, a resident of Kavre, was arrested from Khusibu area with 26 ampoules of Buprenorphine, 26 ampoules of Diazepam and 26 ampoules of Lupigesic. Ranamagar and Lama used to supply pharmaceutical drugs to Shrestha.
“Amphetamine is a powerful drug mostly used by foreigners abroad because it is expensive. Likewise, pharmaceutical drug smuggling has increased in Nepal and we are trying to curb every racket possible,” said SSP Choudhary.