Police detained two Indian nationals—the driver of the tanker and driver’s assistant—along with two Nepali nationals escorting the tanker laden with the contraband on a motorcycle while on its return trip to India after ferrying milk, said Superintendent of Police, Prakash Jung Karki.

The milk tanker from Patna, India with registration number BR-01 GD-3607 had ferried 20,000 litres of milk at the Dairy Development Committee inside the Hetauda Industrial Corridor on Tuesday evening and was on its way back to India with the haul of marijuana before it was apprehended by the police at around 3 am on Wednesday.  The contraband was found concealed inside the tanker in 25 packets, each weighing 10 kg, police said.

After being unable to stop the tanker and the motorcycle escorting it at Pashupatinagar, police had to use a police van as a roadblock near Churiyamai temple to bring the tanker to a halt, said Deputy Superintendent of Police Deepak Thapa. Police had followed the truck after receiving a tip-off that the India-registered tanker is heading to India with a large consignment of marijuana from Manahari area. Those arrested have been identified as Mohammed Javed, 28, from Merung, Uttar Pradesh; Dhiraj Paswan, 24, from Begusarai, Bihar including Santosh Tamang, 19, of Manahri-3 and Ram Waiba, 26, of Handikhola-7, Makwanpur. Meanwhile, two others escorting the tanker on another motorcycle are currently on the run, police said.

Confessing to his crime, Javed said that they were paid Rs 30,000 to smuggle the contraband till Pathalaiya  from where it was to be smuggled into India, while the motorcyclists received Rs 20,000 for escorting the tanker.

Further investigation into the matter revealed that the tanker hired by Patna Dairy had been transporting milk to Nepal since the past two years.

Police said that the arrestees will be charged under Narcotic Drugs (Control) Act, 1976. As per the act, if found guilty, they can be sentenced to 2-10 year of imprisonment and slapped a fine of anywhere between Rs 15,000 to Rs 100,000.

In a separate incident, police arrested Askar Miya, 28 and Immamul Ansari, 32 of Motihari, India while smuggling prescription drugs concealed under the seat of a Tata Sumo jeep bearing Indian number plate on Monday. Police had seized 295 ampoules of Buprenorphein, 295 ampoules of Diazepam, 300 ampoules of Phenergan, and eight bottles of Corex.

The arrestees had crossed into Nepal in the vehicle after paying for one-day permit with temporary number plate and admitted to have smuggled the drugs to be sold in Hetauda.