Three Indians arrested in Nepal with hashish, marijuana

Three Indians were arrested, in two separate incidents, with a huge cache of drugs in Nepal's Hetauda city on Sunday, police said.

The cache of hashish and marijuana are said to be valued millions in market.

Police in Hetauda, while conducting a regular security check up on Sunday, discovered 125 kg hashish, packed in 217 plastic packets, in the roof of an Indian-registered vehicle. The vehicle's occupants, Merja Shah and Mithlesh Sahani, both Indian nationals, were arrested.

Both the Indian nationals took approval to visit Nepal for three days but were returning within a day after loading the hashish.

Superintendent of Police Basanta Kumar Lama said they were tipped off about the consignment, which was loaded on the vehicle in Dhading district, close to the capital, and reached Hetauda to its way to India's Raxaul.

"The discovered hashish is valued at (Indian) Rs 3.1 million in market," said Lama.

In the other incident, 62 kg of marijuana was found in an another Indian truck also heading back to Raxaul and driver Manoj Kumar Yadav arrested.

Yadav, in his statement to police, has admitted of loading the marijuana on the way to Hetauda to smuggle it into India, said Deputy Superintendent of Police Bamdev Gautam. The discovered marijuana is valued at (Indian) Rs 400,000.

Police in Hetauda has arrested 14 Indian nationals and seized eight vehicles in past three months for carrying contraband drugs to India.

Nepal is an easy market for Indian drug users, particularly hashish and marijuana, due to open borders and easy availability of the narcotics.

--IANS

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