Mahottari emerges as narcotics transit hub

By Ajay Shah,Mahottari, (Gaushala), Aug. 29: Mahottari district, bordering India, is increasingly becoming a major transit point for narcotics trafficking, sparking growing concern among authorities and local communities. 

Large quantities of contraband drugs continue to enter Nepal through open border routes with India, positioning Mahottari as a critical node in the illegal trade.

Police records reveal a disturbing trend: in the past three years alone, 252 individuals, including four Indian nationals, have been arrested in connection with 186 drug-related cases, according to District Police Office Mahottari Spokesperson and DSP Shailendra Kumar Bhatta.

The seizures include both traditional and synthetic narcotics, ranging from cannabis, hashish, brown sugar, and opium to pharmaceutical drugs such as Phenergan, Nitrovate, and Rexojesic. Police have claimed that the magnitude of arrests and confiscations points to a deep-rooted and alarming rise in consumption as well as trafficking within the district.

Police statistics showed that 104 people were arrested in fiscal year 2022/23, 71 in 2023/24, and 77 in 2024/25. In the current fiscal year 2025/26, six individuals, including one woman, have already been taken into custody. Over the last three years, authorities confiscated 30 quintals and 678 kilograms of cannabis, 307 grams of brown heroin, 4 grams of cocaine, 20,433 Nitrovate tablets, and 2,517 ampoules of injectable narcotics. 

Vehicles used in trafficking have also been impounded, including 53 motorcycles, eight trucks, two pickup vans, four cars, two ambulances, two Scorpios, a scooter, and two auto-rickshaws. Saroj Adhikari, chief of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) office in Bardibas, said enforcement campaigns have intensified in recent months. The bureau alone has seized 549.85 grams of heroin worth Rs. 4.6 million and detained 39 individuals, including two women and two foreign nationals. 

Notably, traffickers had been using ambulances and motorcycles to smuggle narcotics under the guise of emergency services. Superintendent of Police (SP) Heramb Sharma, Chief of Mahottari Police, stressed that law enforcement is pursuing a dual strategy: both legal action and community awareness campaigns. 

“Eliminating drug abuse cannot be achieved through police efforts alone. The entire society must be aware,” SP Sharma said, highlighting programmes targeting students and local communities.

Rudra Magrati, director of a rehabilitation and treatment centre in Bardibas-3, emphasised the need for comprehensive interventions, from awareness campaigns among parents to integrating anti-drug education into school curricula.  “We must alert children from an early age and dismantle the networks of users, traders, and traffickers through strong legal action,” he said. His center is currently treating 38 individuals battling with drug addiction.

Magrati warned that without coordinated action by families, communities, and government agencies, Mahottari risks becoming entrenched as a hub for narcotics trafficking and abuse.