The Mint Division of Nepal Rastra Bank has started melting the gold that was confiscated during an inspection at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu last month.
The melting process began on Tuesday morning to determine the quality and actual weight of the yellow metal.
On Monday, the Mint Division removed the gold from the brake shoes it was concealed in and weighed it after receiving a letter from the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police.
According to Thaneshwar Acharya, chief of the Mint Division, the total weight of the gold after removing it from the brake shoes was 60.789 kilograms.
A team from the Department of Revenue Investigation (DRI) had confiscated a huge quantity of gold hidden inside brake shoes of scooters during a cargo inspection on July 18 after it had passed undetected through the airport customs.
The gold, whose total weight was initially estimated to be nearly 100 kilograms, was brought on a Cathay Pacific Airways flight from Hong Kong. The brake shoes were imported by Ready Trade Pvt Ltd.
The seized goods were packed in eight boxes and sent to the Mint Division on July 20 to determine the actual weight of the gold.
According to Acharya, each box contained 20 brake shoes.
