Two drug smugglers held with 30 kg hashish

DHADING, APR 13 - Police arrested two suspected drug smugglers in possession of 30 kghashish from Malekhu in Dhading district on Saturday evening.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Prakash Malla said Surya Bahadur Syangtan and Raj Kumar Syangtan of Agra-3 in Makwanpur district were arrested with the large consignment of hashish -- there were 103 packets of drugs wrapped by sellotape -- from a Malekhu-based hotel. Thehashish packets were hidden inside a suitcase.

The arrested duo had booked a room at the hotel at around 10am the same day. The locals had immediately informed the police after growing suspicious of their activities .

During police interrogation, the arrested duo said they were mere porters and that the real culprit was someone else. They also claimed that an unfamiliar man had offered Rs 10,000 to them to transport the suitcase containing the drug from Mahadevbesi to Malekhu.

Security sources said that drug smugglers active in the district have been smuggling marijuana and hashish produced in Dhading to India via Chitwan and Makwanpur districts.

A suspected marijuana smuggler was shot dead and his accomplice sustained injuries during a shootout with police in a forest at Lothar in Chitwan a month ago. Police investigation later revealed that the victims, who were residents of Dhading, had been involved in smuggling drugs to India.

Meanwhile, drug smugglers usually employ young men from impoverished communities in Dhading, Chitwan and Makwanpur districts as drug mules.