Two foreigners held with 1.5 kg cocaine in capital

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Aug. 2: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) of Nepal Police has apprehended two individuals in connection with the smuggling of a significant quantity of cocaine into Nepal.

According to NCB officials, an Indian woman, 35, Rubina Abdullah Sheikh, was arrested from a hotel in Sinamangal of Kathmandu Metropolitan City-9, on Thursday. She had arrived in Kathmandu on Tuesday via a complex route, travelling from India to Ethiopia, and then transiting through Qatar before landing in Nepal.

Bureau Chief and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Krishna Koirala said that Rubina's suspicious demeanor upon arrival at Tribhuvan International Airport immediately drew the attention of plainclothes officers deployed there as part of an ongoing surveillance operation.

“She appeared visibly nervous upon arrival, which prompted our officers to monitor her movements closely,” SSP Koirala explained. “She was then followed to a hotel in Sinamangal, where our team moved in.”

Upon searching her belongings at the hotel, officers discovered a handwoven bag. Closer inspection of the bag revealed a hidden tube wrapped in layers of plastic, black tape, and coarse fabric resembling jute. When the layers were removed, a stash of cocaine was found concealed inside the tube.

The recovered narcotics weighed approximately 1.574 kilograms.

“The bag seemed customised for trafficking purposes, indicating a deliberate smuggling attempt,” SSP Koirala added.

During interrogation, Rubina disclosed that someone was scheduled to collect the consignment. Acting on this lead, the Bureau arrested a second individual the following day, Arun Pratap, 33, who had arrived from India to receive the drugs. He was taken into custody from the same hotel.

Further investigations are underway into the transnational drug trafficking network involved in the case.

This case follows a similar incident in which the Bureau arrested two foreign nationals from Ichangu Narayan, Nagarjun-3, with smaller amounts of cocaine. In that case, an Eritrean national, Yusuf Etom, 37, was found in possession of 32 grams of cocaine, which led to the arrest of a Russian national, 44, Andrey Malesev, as part of the extended investigation, according to the NCB.