Kathmandu, October 15
Former Speaker Krishna Bahadur Mahara has been sent to judicial custody for trial. The Kathmandu District Court issued the order after recording his statement and conducting hearings on Tuesday and Wednesday regarding his detention.
A demand had been filed seeking a recovery of Rs 85.5 million and a prison sentence of more than three years against Mahara. The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police had arrested him last Sunday. He is accused of exerting pressure to release gold that had been smuggled inside electronic cigarettes (vapes) seized at the airport customs.
On December 25, 2022, two suspicious suitcases brought to Kathmandu by Chinese passport holder Li Hansong on Fly Dubai flight number FZ 0587 were inspected after vapes were detected. The airport customs office had taken the items under control. After retrieving his passport, Hansong left Kathmandu the following day, but the vapes remained stored at customs for a long time.
Later, after receiving information that the vapes contained smuggled gold, some airport staff allegedly replaced them secretly. When suspicion arose over the swap, on May 9, 2023, the customs office wrote to the CIB requesting an investigation.
After two months of investigation, the CIB concluded that nine kilograms of gold had been smuggled and filed a case against six individuals, including customs non-gazetted officer Rewant Khadka.
In a supplementary charge sheet, the CIB named Belgian national of Chinese origin Dawa Chhiring, his driver Lokendra Paudel, Rahul Mahara, and Nima Gurung as accomplices.
Mahara’s statement was taken a few days ago as part of the ongoing investigation into the gold smuggling case in which he is alleged to be involved.
