On Wednesday, the Narcotics Bureau of Nepal Police arrested five persons from Samakhusi and Kalanki in possession of illegal drugs.

The arrestees were identified as Bhuwan Adhikari of Pokhara, Hazif Nasim Akhtar Teli of Parsa, Raziya Khatun of Tanahun, Mohammad Shahid Akhtar of Parsa and Josang Liyana from India.

According to Senior Superintendent of Police Basanta Kumar Lama at the Narcotics Control Bureau of Nepal Police, the arrestees were held with 1.45 kg methamphetamine, a stimulant that affects the central nervous system.

“The seized drugs were costly, and they were brought to the Capital to be sold,” Lama told the Post.

Acting on a tip-off, police had arrested Adhikari and Teli from Samakhusi, and during interrogation, police found their links with Khatun, Akhtar and Liyana, who were detained from Kalanki. Further investigation into the case is underway, said Lama.

In the past month, police have detained over a dozen people in the Capital for their involvement in drug trafficking.

Around two weeks ago, the police had detained seven persons, including three Indian nationals, with a large number of prescription drugs. The drugs were hidden in a rice bag inside a vehicle.

While police were searching the vehicle, they discovered 1,047 ampules of diazepam, 1,037 ampules of buprenorphine and 1,042 ampules of phenergan. According to police, illegal prescription drugs are being smuggled into Nepal via India in large quantities of late.

“In the festive season, lots of goods enter Nepal from India. And during this time, border security is usually lax, allowing drug smugglers to cross the border without getting caught,” said Superintendent of Police Krishna Prasain, also the spokesperson for the Narcotics Control Bureau. The bureau’s data of the last three years shows that drug smuggling cases and arrests are on the rise in the country.

In the fiscal year 2016/17, police arrested 3,607 people on drug smuggling charges—of them 159 were foreigners. In the fiscal year 2017/18, police arrested 4,754 people, including 149 foreigners. Similarly, in 2018/19, police arrested 5,558, including 201 foreign nationals.