Police have arrested seven individuals in connection with the latest gold smuggling case.

The Department of Revenue Investigation on Wednesday had seized a huge quantity of gold that had passed undetected through the Tribhuvan International Airport customs. According to the department, around 80 to 100 kilograms of the precious yellow metal, suspected to have been brought from Hong Kong, was confiscated during a raid based on a tip-off.

Senior Superintendent Rajendra Khadka, the spokesperson of the Armed Police Force, informed that a team of department officials and personnel from the APF had confiscated a large quantity of the gold that was being taken in a taxi from the airport area.

“The confiscated metal will be taken to the Nepal Rastra Bank soon to determine the exact weight which will be done under the supervision of Inland Revenue Department officials,” Khadka told the Post on Thursday morning.

SSP Khadka informed that the police have so far arrested Rajendra Rai, the taxi driver, Ram Kumar Bhujel, Dilip Bhujel, Harka Raj Rai, an Indian national Thapten Tsering and a Chinese national.

Further investigation is underway regarding the incident, said Khadka.

Meanwhile, the customs department is preparing to suspend the staff, involved in checking and clearing, a large quantity of gold as a ‘break shoe’ of two-wheelers, from the Tribhuvan International Airport customs office on Tuesday.

The customs clearance was done by customs officer Ramesh Chand, and the item was inspected by Kumar Dhakal.

According to Punya Bikram Khadka, the spokesperson at the customs department, the process of suspending the employees involved in the inspection and clearance of the suspected gold has been started.