How 14 kg gold was seized at TIA

Kathmandu, Dec. 9: On December 4, the customs and security officials of the Tribhuvan International Airport were alerted that gold was being smuggled to Kathmandu from Dubai. 

But the tip-off was half-baked. They did not know the flight, the smugglers and the day of their arrival in Kathmandu.   

They kept on watching the passengers and their luggage with extra care when any plane from Dubai landed at the TIA.  

But they did not find anything as per the tip-off till Thursday evening. 

"From Monday to Wednesday, we were looking for the arrival of suspected men carrying the gold, but nothing was found,” said Dr. Tokraj Pandey, Chief of the Airport's Customs Office, while talking to journalists on Friday after the seizure of seven biscuits of gold, weighing 14 kg in total.  

"We continued our surveillance on Thursday. And, at midnight, a man who matched the information we had about the potential smuggler appeared.   We took him to the x-ray machine row for his body search," said Pandey. "When we searched his body, seven biscuits of gold were found concealed inside a custom-made ascot-like half-jacket, and when weighed the biscuits, they weighed two kg each."

The man was arrested, and he was identified as Chandra Ghale of Barpark, Gorkha.  

The suspect had come to Kathmandu via Fly Dubai’s flight number FZ573 at 11:56 pm on Thursday. 

Arjun Chand, Deputy Inspector General of Police and Chief of the TIA Security Police Office, said, "During interrogation, Ghale pleaded that he was a porter for Min Bahadur Ghale.” 

After Ghale’s statement, Min Bahadur was arrested from Dhumbarahi. 

When asked about the possibility of the passing of the gold easily from the x-ray machine at the airport, Pandey said, “It was impossible.

 But if he had been able to meet others, something else could have happened to the gold.” 

The mobile phones of both Chandra and Min have been seized and are being investigated, Pandey said, adding that after the investigation, more information about the racket could come to light.

Six-member probe committee formed

Meanwhile, the TIA Customs Office has formed a six-member committee to investigate the smuggling of the 14 kg gold.  

Deputy Superintendent of Police Surya Prakash Subedi, Customs Officers Prakash Niraula and Dillu Prasad Sharma and branch officers Manju Thapa and Lokraj Dhungana are in the committee chaired by Customs Officer Maniram Paudel. Pandey said that the gold was sent to the Department of Customs for testing. The committee has been instructed to submit its report within five days. 

Additional two kg of gold seized 

Meanwhile, a special team of the Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation Office arrested three smugglers with two kilograms of gold during a security check at Thankot check post, Nagadhunga, on Friday. 

According to the Office Chief and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Somendra Rathore, the gold was recovered from a Scorpio with registration number Bagmati State-01-028-Cha-2696 coming from Rasuwa to Kathmandu.

Police arrested Gyalchhing Tamang, Biru Tamang and Sunil Bhujel of Gosaikunda Rural Municipality of Rasuwa with the gold.