Three arrested with around 100 kg gold from Sinamangal

The Revenue Investigation Department recovered around one quintal gold from Singamangal on Wednesday.

“Acting on a tip off, we conducted a special operation and recovered 80 to 100 kg gold,” Department Director General Nawaraj Dhungana said, adding, “This may be the largest amount of gold recovered in Nepal so far.”

Police said that the gold, passed undetected through the Customs Office of the Tribhuvan International Airport, arrived in Kathmandu on Tuesday's Cathay Pacific flight.

The gold was brought in Kathmandu by concealing in the brake shoes of motorbikes and scooters.

The officials of the Revenue Investigation Department have arrested three persons on the charge of smuggling the gold.

The arrestees have been identified as owner of Ready Trade Dipip Bhujel, the importer of the gold, customs agent Rajendra Rai and the taxi driver.

The identity of the taxi driver has not been ascertained yet.

It has been said that the team of Revenue Investigation Department arrested the trio while they were taking the gold out of the airport area in a taxi (Sun Ba 2 Cha 2324).

Nepal Police spokesperson Kuber Kadayat confirmed that a huge cache of gold was recovered from Sinamangal on Wednesday.

“This is the first time that such a large amount of gold has been recovered. Investigation into the incident is underway. The value of the gold is around Rs one billion,” he said.

A group of business tycoons may be involved in smuggling the gold, Kadayat said.

The gold that had passed from the Customs Office at 2 pm was recovered after three hours.

The police suspect that this group may have smuggled a large amount of yellow metal earlier also.

During the preliminary investigation, it was found that 160 pieces of gold were brought in Kathmandu.

The TIA Customs Office said that it has no knowledge about the issue.

The seized gold has been sent to the Revenue Investigation Department in Hariharbhawan for weighing.

The gold will be taken to the Taksar Department of the Nepal Rastra Bank to identify the purity of the gold.

Some of the staffers of the Customs Department are also under investigation.