Police on Friday arrested a couple from Makwanpur for allegedly swindling foreign job aspirants.

Responding to the complaint filed by four people, police arrested Bijay Thing Lama, 50, and his wife, Sajana, 50, from their residence in Hetauda Sub-metropolitan City.
The Lama couple is accused of swindling the victims out of Rs 2.4 million by promising them lucrative jobs in Malaysia, DSP Santosh Tamang of Lalitpur Metropolitan Police Range said.

“The couple had stranded the victims by taking them to New Delhi after promising them to take them to Lawas, Malaysia,” said Tamang said.
The victims had filed a police complaint against the Lama couple at Makwanpur District Police Office on October 22.
Following their arrest, the couple was transferred to Lalitpur for further investigation.

“The victims have demanded the return of their money in full. The Lama couple has agreed to pay up,” Tamang said.

Fraud cases involving overseas jobs are common in the country, with police receiving hundreds of complaints every year.

According to the data maintained by the Nepal Police Headquarters, police recorded 368 cases related to fraud across the country in the fiscal year 2016/17. The number of cases rose to 542 in the fiscal year 2017/18. In the fiscal year 2018/19, police registered 627 cases related to fraud.

“The oversight of not checking the authenticity of the agencies and agents by the foreign job aspirants, as well as their lack of knowledge on how to apply for overseas jobs are making them the victims of fraud,” said SP Tek Bahadur Rai, chief of Lalitpur Metropolitan Police Range.