Let police dig into dirty gold

Gold is smuggled in Nepal to fulfill the demands for the yellow metal within the country and in India. Reports suggest India has an annual gap of 400 tons in demand and supply of gold. Whereas Nepal needs 40 kg of gold daily, it gets just 20 kg. Smuggling fills these gaps.

India is the largest private gold holding country. 

We may step up border security, but then smugglers change their modus operandi and use new routes for smuggling. We must be able to catch smugglers within the country and punish all guilty parties. 

Governments in the past used to help with gold smuggling through airport handling companies and mechanisms. It’s obvious that smugglers enjoy political protection nowadays as well.

Nepal Police must be allowed to investigate such cases because it constantly monitors new channels of smuggling and the Department of Revenue Investigation lacks the capacity to probe the cases.   

The author is former DIG of Nepal Police