The Department of Customs is preparing to send a follow-up letter to Hong Kong customs about the over 60 kg of gold smuggled into Nepal last month from Hong Kong.

On July 18, the Department of Revenue Investigation (DRI) seized the smuggled gold brought in eight consignments at Sinamangal, Kathmandu right after it got clearance from the customs at the Tribhuvan International Airport. The seized gold, concealed inside motorcycle brake shoes, weighed 60.789kg after it was removed from the brake shoes and melted, according to Nepal Rastra Bank.

The seized consignment belonged to Ready Trade Private Limited, a Nepali company.

While machines installed at the TIA customs didn’t detect the gold, the customs department had inquired the Hong Kong administration about how the gold concealed inside motorcycle brake shoes could pass Hong Kong airport.

“We had inquired why they allowed the gold to pass through Hong Kong airport even though bringing gold in such a manner is illegal in Nepal,” said Shovakant Poudel, director general of the customs department.

Only commercial banks are allowed to import gold formally on a large scale. Individuals returning from abroad can bring with them up to 50 grams of gold in the form of jewellery without paying any duty. Anyone carrying more jewellery—up to 200 grams—needs to pay tax for the gold in excess of 50 grams, according to the department. But gold jewellery weighing more than 200 grams is confiscated, according to the Customs Department.

Poudel said since the customs department inquired, the Hong Kong customs sought details of the smuggling incident and the individuals involved.

“After we sent the details, they were saying that the authority concerned would directly contact us based on our concerns. But we haven't received any further communication from Hong Kong authorities,” Poudel told the Post on Sunday evening.

Considering the delay in getting a response, the customs department is planning to send a follow-up letter. “We will probably send a follow-up letter in the next two or three days,” Poudel added.

After the seizure of the smuggled gold, the DRI raided the warehouse of Ready Trade, a private firm, at Sorhakhutte in Kathmandu and seized 66 boxes of motorcycle brake shoes. Many of the brake shoes were found to be lighter than those seized at Sinamangal, raising suspicions that gold from the motorcycle component had already been extracted.

The DRI also raided the house of Rakesh Kumar Adukia, one of the prime suspects in the smuggling case, as part of efforts to find the actual owners of the seized gold. Later, on August 11, the immigration office at the TIA took Rohan Adukiya, the son of Rakesh Adukiya, in custody in connection with the gold smuggling case.

It had also raided a factory at Tokha in Kathmandu, a suspected site used by smugglers for melting gold. It had arrested 18 people on the charge of being involved in smuggling the gold.

Earlier this month, the Central Investigation Bureau of Nepal Police took over the task of investigating the matter after it emerged that the smuggling was taking place in an organised manner.

On the other hand, the customs department itself also formed a taskforce to look into the weaknesses at the TIA customs office that led to the clearance of the smuggled gold without detection even by the X-ray machine installed there. It had suspended two of its staffers involved in checking the consignments at the TIA.

Subsequently, the DRI arrested airport customs officer Santosh Chand, checker Kumar Dhakal, a non-gazetted second-class staffer, and X-ray technician Saroj Shrestha on the charge of clearing the smuggled gold through the TIA customs on July 23.

“Our own investigation also suggested weaknesses and possibly ill-intention of certain staff members,” said Poudel. “The probe also suggested the need to bring reforms in adaptation of technologies to address such smuggling.”

He said that TIA customs has been instructed to improve every step of customs clearance so that illegal activities could be controlled.