KATHMANDU: Five individuals from Hetauda Sub-metropolitan City-11 were taken into custody by the police squad on Thursday night for allegedly smuggling 58 e-cigarette cartons worth around Rs27.12 million into India. Following a tip, the Bagmati Province Police Office and the Makwanpur District Police jointly conducted an operation last Thursday night that resulted in the arrest of five individuals from Hetauda Sub-metropolitan City-11 for allegedly smuggling 58 boxes of e-cigarettes to India, valued at around Rs27.12 million.

The e-cigarettes, popularly known as vapes, were found in a bus coming from Kathmandu to New Delhi, India. The arrested persons include Salam Moktan, 37, of Dolakha, Prabindra Rana, 27, of Udayapur, Indra Bahadur Darji, 39 of Nuwakot, Santosh Bhusal, 30, and Raj Kumar Himang, 29, of Dhankuta.

According to Superintendent of Police Sitaram Rijal, the Makwanpur District Police Chief, the suspects had adopted a modus operandi involving false bottoms from the roof area above the seats, and they were smuggling all types of goods, going on for quite some time to bypass customs.

Preliminary investigations suggest that the e-cigarettes were brought into Nepal through the Chinese border. The case is now being transferred to the Department of Revenue Investigation for further action.