Police have arrested two persons for allegedly using returnee Nepali migrant workers to smuggle gold via Tribhuvan International Airport.

The suspect of the gold smuggling racket are Santosh Yadav, 20, of Saptari and Samim Safi, 25, of Dhanusha. They had arrived in Kathmandu from Qatar yesterday.

Acting on information, police raided a hotel in Pinglasthan and arrested them with 350 grams of gold smuggled into Nepal from Gulf countries by using migrant works. The gold was in the form of seven bangles weighing 50 grams each.

An oversea returnee is allowed to carry gold up to 50 grams in the form of ornament. Smugglers like Yadav and Safi have been misusing this provision to smuggle gold by causing other returnees to possess the small consignment of gold with the promise of wage.

According to police, the frequent arrests of oversee returnee like Yadav and Safi show that migrant workers are being used to smuggle gold in small quantities.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Hobindra Bogati said the duo paid a wage of around Rs 6,000 to each migrant worker for carrying home 50 grams of gold. The 350 grams of gold was brought by seven persons.

In some cases, migrant workers are paid by the racketeers from the Gulf via wire after the consignment of gold is received by the concerned person in Nepal. According to a figure of the TIA, customs officials and police seize an average of two kilos of undeclared gold collected by racketeers from migrant workers in small consignments. Yadav and Safi have been handed over to the Department of Revenue Investigation for further action.

Published on: 10 February 2019 । The Himalayan Times