By Nayak Paudel
Kathmandu, July 26: The Crime Division of Metropolitan Police arrested two individuals on July 22 with two Hyundai Creta cars which were smuggled into Nepal without duty clearance from the customs.
As per the division, they acted on a special tipoff regarding sale of illegally smuggled vehicles. They then arrested Aagya Gurung, 38, and Sonam Tasi Yolmo, 43, from Bouddha area in Kathmandu.
The duo was arrested with two Creta cars which were smuggled to Nepal via India without customs clearance.
“The engine number of the two cars is D4FCJMJM710203 and D4FBKM837583 and their chassis numbers are MALC281RLJM510761 and MALC381UMKM625769 respectively. The cars had the registration of Ba 19 Cha 2036 and DL 8CAZ 6082 on their number plates,” read a statement issued by the division on Saturday.
The division informed that the duo and the cars have been handed over to the Tribhuvan International Airport Customs Office in Gauchar, Kathmandu for further legal process. The confiscation of illegally smuggled Hyundai cars was not the first by the division, but the latest arrest seems to have no connection with the previous one, said Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Chandra Kuber Khapung.
On June 28, the division had arrested four individuals from different places of Kathmandu Valley with two Hyundai Creta cars which were brought for illegal selling without customs clearance.
One of the Hyundai Creta had a registration number Ga 3 Cha 1462 and the other had the registration number State 3-01 024 Cha 0253. The division had arrested Arun Khadka, 24; Madhu Silwal, 41; Kamal Babu Bhatta, 33; and Rewati Raman Niroula, 41.
Niroula was also found to be involved in creating fake documents for the vehicles and the authorities had seized fake mark sheets of different educational institutions, documents of government bodies and 191 different stamps.
In the recent arrest, the division found the document of one of the cars and is investigating into its legitimacy as well.
The officers at the division informed that smuggling a vehicle without customs clearance and selling it in Nepal led to a handsome profit.
“We have seized four Hyundai Creta in less than a month but from two different groups. They both, however, had the Hyundai Creta in common because the vehicle is in high demand in Nepal. Likewise, such groups sold these cars at less than the market price,” said SSP Khapung, who is also the chief of the Metropolitan Crime Division.
SSP Khapung further said that the cars were smuggled via Nepal-India border as it is porous. Yolmo, one of the two arrested on July 22, hailed from Darjeeling, India.
Nevertheless, the division also informed that it was not only the case of Hyundai Creta but similar tactics have been used in several vehicles.
“We have also confiscated Hyundai Santro car and KTM Duke and Royal Enfield Bullet motorcycles which were also smuggled without duty clearance. Different units of the police are investigating in regard to such vehicles effectively,” said SSP Khapung.
Nevertheless, police informed that they were unable to track the buyers and records of the already sold vehicles.
“The groups might have sold some vehicles already as well but we don’t have evidence to track the buyers as the arrested individuals have no records about it and they don’t comply with us easily. But we are investigating to get a lead and bust such rackets at the earliest,” SSP Khapung told The Rising Nepal. Authorities have also requested the public to only buy vehicles after confirming the documents and the owner.