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.

On the basis of a complaint filed by the Dry Port management, the police have arrested three locals in relation to the theft. The arrested are Jay Dutta Shah (18), Ramesh Shah (25) and Nandu Sahani (25), according to the Birgunj Metropolitan.

After assessing the information collected from the arrested, the police have recovered 16 bottles of alcohol and the computer, according to the District Police Office, Parsa. Narayan Thapa, spokesperson of Parsa police, said that the three were arrested on Wednesday evening. “They were arrested around 9 pm from Sirsiya,” said DSP Thapa. 

“We are investigating the whereabouts of the remaining bottles,” said DSP. The arrested three said they entered the warehouse by climbing into the storage facility via a rope. Prior to this incident, a case of a missing LED TV was also reported around six months ago. Different types of packaged and dried foods have also reportedly been missing on a regular basis, said traders.

With the number of such small-scale thefts increasing by the day, questions of the Dry Port’s safety have arisen. And although internal and external security has been deployed, theft cases have not decreased, say traders. Reports of previously reported theft cases were not disclosed to the public; however, because the quantity of theft this time is bigger, the Dry Port management had to investigate the case strictly, say traders.

The people identified by the police in the involvement of the theft will be barred from entering the Dry Port, said Bishnu Kant Chaudhary, CEO at Himalayan Terminal. The information regarding imported goods is taken from internal security, representatives of the companies and officials from customs, he said. “The goods arrived from the railway are stored in the warehouse, which is unloaded by workers,” said an agent on the condition of anonymity. Then the goods are taken by customs officials during customs clearance in the name of sample. The burglars might have come to know about this routine and stole the goods in coordination with the security guards, claimed the agent.