ITAHARI, Feb 9: As much as 8.296 kilograms of silver, being smuggled into Nepalgunj from India has been confiscated by the Armed Police Force (APF) from a motorcycle with the number plate (UP 32 EK 8196) from Uttar Pradesh (India) during the course of vehicle inspection on Tuesday.
The smuggled silver had managed to pass through the Nepal-India border point of Jamunaha and another checkpoint before the Nepalgunj Customs Office. Vehicles passing through these checkpoints are checked by Nepal Police, Armed Police Force, and officers of the customs office. Although the smuggler had managed to pass through the two checkpoints before getting caught at Chaulika Chowk by the APF, he managed to outrun the police after leaving the motorcycle and the silver behind, said APF Inspector Dharmendra Bam.
However, according to local eyewitnesses, it was the APF personnel who allowed the smuggler to get away. “Without the help of the police and the customs officials, it is impossible to smuggle silver. The APF recovered the silver and the motorcycle and chased away the person involved in the smuggling," a local informed Republica.
Meanwhile, the recovered silver and the motorcycle have been handed over to the Nepalgunj Customs Office, according to the APF officials of Bageshwori, Banke.
As per the information received from the locals, the smuggling of goods from India into Nepal with the help of police and customs officials has been going on for a very long time. The police confiscate the smuggled goods after they don't reach an agreement with the smuggler and let him\her go, locals said.
“They will easily let the goods pass if the smuggler and the security personnel reach a bargain with each other. But, they will nab the smugglers and send them to the customs if they don’t reach an agreement. In some cases, the police will let the person run away but confiscate the goods,” a source said.