A team of Narcotics Bureau Birgunj and District Police Office Bara recovered 1.14 kgs of the banned substance on Tuesday.

The victim’s body was found some 200 metres from the Tharuhati village on Monday.

Local consumer committee, the contractor, and rural municipality, blame each other for the delay as locals bear the brunt.

The bullets kept in a plastic bag were found while the metropolis was cleaning the sewer by using an excavator.

The duo had slept by burning coal in a closed room.

Smuggling cases of pepper, maize and garments at the border areas have been on the rise. According to a report provided by the District Police Office, Parsa, the office confiscated garments worth Rs7.9 million that passed through illegal channels from last mid-April.

Theft cases in the warehouse at the Dry Port in Sirsiya, Brigunj, have reportedly been increasing. According to Himalayan Terminal, the company operating the Dry Port, 24 bottles of Black Label alcohol and a computer set have been stolen.

The Department of Revenue Investigation on Wednesday arrested Sanjay Agrawal, proprietor of Global Leather Tanning Udhyog, on smuggling charges. He smuggled black pepper through Birgunj Customs.

Four transport syndicates operating on Birgunj-Kathmandu route are collecting extra fees of up to Rs470 from each cargo truck operating on the sector, exerting upward pressure on prices of various goods bound for the capital.

Locals of Alau and Sirsiya in Birgunj have launched a protest to exert pressure on the government to provide adequate compensation for the land that they relinquished for construction of the Integrated Check Point (ICP), a facility that is expected to facilitate Nepal-India trade and transit.

Protesters indulged in stray incidents of arson and vandalised a few vehicles, including a van with Indian registration, for defying their strike call on Sunday in Birgunj.

Indian Railways has hiked demurrage on wagons by up to sixfold, making life hard for Nepali importers, traders said.

With banks tightening lending due to a receding supply of loanable funds, imports of luxury automobiles and industrial raw materials have dropped markedly, leading to a sharp drop in revenue collection at Birgunj Customs.

An Indian national, who was killed in police action a week ago in Birgunj, was involved in the abduction of businessman Suresh Kedia, claimed police.

The Birgunj Customs Office has started imposing hefty fines on traders who attempt to produce fake bills in a bid to control the practice of underinvoicing.