The Department of Revenue Investigation (DRI) has decided to hand over the file on the recent gold smuggling case to the police for further investigation.
Organizing a press conference on Sunday, DRI Director General Nava Raj Dhungana said that they have decided to hand over investigation of the gold smuggling case to the police.
“This is an organized crime. We are also handing over those arrested till date to the police,” Dhungana said. “The investigation is becoming complicated.”
The DRI has arrested 18 people till date in connection with the gold smuggling scam. Among them, customs agent Rukmina Subba was released on guarantee on Thursday as she suffers from throat cancer and needs to undergo treatment.
The DRI is preparing to hand over the remaining 17 to the police.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal had talked with Home Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha, DRI Director General Nava Raj Dhungana, Nepal Police IGP Basanta Kunwar and Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) chief Kiran Bajracharya about handing over investigation of the case to CIB.
A DRI team had confiscated a huge quantity of gold during a cargo inspection on July 18 after it had passed undetected through the airport customs.
The gold, whose total weight is estimated to be nearly 100 kilograms, was brought hidden inside brake shoes for scooters on a Cathay Pacific Airways flight from Hong Kong. The brake shoes were imported by Ready Trade Pvt Ltd.
The seized goods have been sent to the Mint Division of Nepal Rastra Bank to determine the actual weight of the gold. But the gold has yet to be weighed.
