Police have arrested Chudamani Upreti aka Gore, the alleged mastermind of 33 kg gold smuggling case on Tuesday morning. He was made public on the premises of Home Ministry this afternoon.

Acting on a tip-off, a special police team under the Home Ministry had arrested Gore from Gaurighat, Kathmandu at 5:34 am today. Police intensified the search after they got the information that the Gore had entered Kathmandu.

The smuggling case drew much public attention following the murder of Sanam Shakya, an alleged smuggler. Shakya’s was tortured to death in Urlabari on March 2 and his body was recovered from a vehicle (Ba 12 Cha 5963) in Biratnagar the following day. Police said electric shock was the cause of Shakya’s death.

The District Attorney’s Office, Morang, has filed a charge sheet at the Morang District Court against 63 suspects.

Government had formed a committee under Home Ministry’s Joint Secretary Ishwor Poudel to investigate the case.

Poudel-led committee concluded that Upreti and his accomplices smuggled 3,999.6kg of gold since July 2015.

(All photos: Sanjog Manandhar)