‘Ghale’s racket may have smuggled in 138 kg of gold’

KATHMANDU: Chandra Ghale, who was arrested from Tribhuvan International Airport a few days ago with 14 kg of gold, reportedly made 60 round trips between Kathmandu and Dubai in recent months, according to officials.

Organizing a press conference in Kathmandu on Sunday, an inquiry committee formed to investigate gold smuggling, revealed that the racket involving Ghale might have smuggled in a total of 138 kg of gold. The racket was allegedly bringing in five to 14 kg of gold on each trip, an official of the inquiry committee.

Authorities have also confiscated 17 passports from Krishna Kumar Gurung, another member of the racket, who is reportedly involved in banking offenses.

The committee has identified the individual sending gold from Dubai as Ankit Agrawal, while a Nepali national named DB Gurung was responsible for facilitating the transfer of gold out of the airport. It was revealed that airport officials bribed by DB Gurung had been working for more than three decades, and some continued their involvement even after retirement.

The committee is now preparing to hand over the investigation to the Central Investigation Bureau of Nepal Police.