Six held for smuggling heroin from India

By A Staff Reporter Kathmandu, May 26: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has arrested a total of six individuals, including two Indian nationals, on charge of smuggling heroin, also known as brown sugar, from India to Kathmandu via Jhapa.

A total of 246 gram heroin worth Rs. 2,460,000 was seized from the six individuals. The NCB had arrested the individuals in a span of three days from different parts of Kathmandu and Jhapa district.

According to the bureau, the first arrest was made on May 20. The arrested individual was 27-year-old Bibek Toyana, a permanent resident of Suryabinayak, Bhaktapur. He was arrested with 6.5 gram heroin from Ward No. 6 of Gokarneshwor Municipality of Kathmandu.

The bureau then initiated further investigation and started searching for the source of heroin confiscated from Toyana. 

The same day, the NCB arrested 34-year-old Karna Bahadur Seling, a permanent resident of Taplejung district. Karna, who had been living in Sinamangal, Kathmandu, was the person providing the drug to Toyana. 

Police have seized a total of 36.5 gram heroin from Karna.  When the bureau investigated on the distributor of Karna, they reached Jhapa district.

“Yogesh Kumar Seling aka Sonam, a 24-year-old of Shivasatakshi Municipality of Jhapa, was arrested on May 20 from Ward 2 of the municipality on charge of providing heroin to Karna,” read a statement by the NCB on Monday. Senior officials at the bureau informed that they continued the investigation to find other individuals behind the racket.

Two days later on May 22, 19-year-old Hardip Rajbanshi, a resident of Ward 7 of Bhadrapur Municipality of Jhapa, was arrested. Rajbanshi was arrested with 202 grams of heroin from Ward 11 of Shivasatakshi Municipality. He used to supply the drug to Sonam.

Rajbanshi was found to be receiving the drug from individuals across the border.  Arjun Roy, 23, and Suren Barman, 21, were arrested on May 22 from Ward 10 and 13 of Shivasatakshi respectively. The duo hailed from Panitanki area in West Bengal, India, and provided brown sugar to Rajbanshi.

The two Indian nationals were arrested while they had arrived at Shivasatakshi to collect money for the provided drug.