Amala Roka, who was absconding in the 61 kg gold smuggling case, has been arrested.
The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police arrested her from Tokha in Kathmandu on Friday, according to Senior Superintendent of Police Hobindra Bogati.
Roka is the wife of Belgian national Dawa Tsering, who is currently in judicial custody in connection with the same gold smuggling case.
Roka was found to have close ties with Maoist leaders. Reports had surfaced about her connections with Maoist leaders Barshaman Pun and Nanda Kishor Pun. A photo of her having dinner with Barshaman Pun had also gained attention.
However, they had maintained that apart from family relations, they had no connection with her.
Roka also used to operate Vienna Hotel in Thamel. Police had repeatedly raided the hotel during the investigation into the gold smuggling case.
On July 18, 2023, a team from the Department of Revenue Investigation (DRI), following a tip-off, had confiscated a huge quantity of gold hidden inside brake shoes of scooters during a cargo inspection after it had passed undetected through customs at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu.
The gold was brought on a Cathay Pacific Airways flight from Hong Kong.
The total quantity of the confiscated gold was later found to be 60.716 kilograms.
The brake shoes were imported by Ready Trade Pvt Ltd, registered in the name of Dilip Bhujel. It was found that gold was being smuggled from China inside various goods by setting up various fake companies.
Although the DRI initially investigated the case, the CIB later took over the investigation and filed the case.
Dawa Tsering was arrested by a team from the DRI on July 30, 2023. However, his wife Roka had already fled by that time.
