News Summary
- The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed corruption charges against three customs officials at Tribhuvan International Airport for involvement in gold smuggling.
- The incident, where gold was concealed inside confiscated electronic cigarettes (vapes) at the customs office, came to light two years later.
- The District Court has sentenced the employees involved in gold theft, convicting them of criminal breach of trust with imprisonment and fines.
April 15, Kathmandu – Arun Pokharel, Chief of the Customs Office at Tribhuvan International Airport, along with Chief Customs Officers Muktiprasad Shrestha and Ambikaprasad Khanal, are the three officials who, by not informing higher authorities, almost kept the gold smuggling case concealed involving electronic cigarettes (vapes).
Nearly two and a half years after the incident, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) filed corruption charges against the officers who had reported the smuggling in writing and provided reports.
The commission’s decision appears contradictory since these accused officials were serving as witnesses in the district court, providing testimony regarding the gold smuggling case.
Due to pressure regarding corruption cases involving high-profile individuals, the commission also filed cases against those employees who had reported the smuggling and irregularities. The commission filed charges soon after the formation of the new government, following two years of no investigative progress.
Seized Vapes at Customs Office
On December 25, 2023, around 7:30 a.m., two suitcases carried by Chinese national Li Hang Sung, arriving on a Fly Dubai flight at Tribhuvan International Airport customs checkpoint, were inspected. Inside, 730 electronic cigarettes (vapes) packed in 73 cartons were seized.
Although these goods could have been imported commercially, they were found to be under the false billing (Jhiti Guntha) scheme, leading customs to confiscate the suitcases.
After preparing official seizure documentation, the suitcases were placed next to Chief Customs Officer Muktiprasad Shrestha’s office, and customs staff member Nasu Saroj Shrestha also took photographs.
It took more than a month to inspect the suitcases and take action; eventually, the items were dispatched to a warehouse, but customs reports still indicated the suitcases were at the passenger counter.
According to whistleblower employees, they initially did not suspect gold was concealed inside the vapes; the items were seized solely due to Jhiti Guntha commercial import violations.
At Tribhuvan International Airport’s terminal, customs has a check-post unit, checkpoint, and employee offices. The customs office, chief’s office, and warehouse are situated on a lower floor, and confiscated materials are typically sent there.
An evaluation committee chaired by Chief Customs Administrator Arun Pokharel valued the vapes at NPR 511,000, but no auction process was initiated.
Misconduct of Security Guard
Nirmal Bik is a security guard at airport customs and assisted in bringing the suitcases down from the terminal. After they were placed in the warehouse, he broke open a suitcase and examined its contents.
According to district court and commission details, Nirmal took one vape home, and while attempting to burn it, an accident occurred. When he showed the vape to a gold shop, the shop owner confirmed gold was inside. He then made gold jewelry and paid the rest of the gold’s value as wages.
Nirmal informed Bablu Gupta, who conducts auctions of customs goods, about the concealed gold inside the vapes. Bablu colluded with airport customs employees to deal gold sales and exchanged the vapes.
The seized goods were stored in the warehouse, where the vapes and concealed gold pieces were separated and sold; new vapes were purchased and replaced in the suitcases returned to customs storage.
Following the seizure, multiple phone calls were made to airport customs, with Rahul Mahara and former Speaker Krishna Bahadur Mahara pressuring to release the suitcases.
At that time, the employees were unaware of the concealed gold; Chief Arun Pokharel had instructed that the auction process proceed.
Bablu claimed the suspicious items attracted widespread attention, but pressure was applied to conduct the auction favoring their own interests.
Though X-ray scanning of the suitcases did not reveal anything initially, photographs taken by employees later uncovered that the vapes had been swapped.
When it became clear that the vapes in the suitcases had been exchanged, the employees summoned Nasu Rewant Khadka for clarification. Nasu denied involvement and was marked present in the digital attendance system.
An investigative committee, led by Chief Customs Officer Ambika Khanal, concluded the vapes had been swapped and submitted a report including formal statements.
Upon receiving the report, the department heads immediately instructed those involved, including Nasu, to recover the missing items and rectify the situation.
Rewant disclosed the vape swapping to Dinesh Basnet, who admitted the gold had already been sold and could not be recovered.
It was discovered that Dinesh earned NPR 10 million from selling the concealed gold inside the vapes, with NPR 6.5 million paid to representative Nasu Rewant Khadka.
The gold sale proceeds were deposited into accounts of Prerana Thapa and Lalita Bhandari, with Nasu reportedly receiving more than NPR 1 million, according to the charge sheet.
Nasu reportedly hosted a party at Sukute Resort funded by those proceeds but could not fully account for the remaining money.
According to Dinesh, the extracted gold amounted to nine kilograms, all of which was claimed to have been sold.
Dinesh testified he purchased land worth NPR 27.5 million in the name of his father-in-law, Ramkeshav Thapa, deposited some cash in the bank, and spent the rest.
Revelations from the Report
Following the report led by Ambika Khanal, it was confirmed that the vapes were swapped. Customs employees repeatedly pressured Nasu Rewant, who eventually admitted involvement.
The customs office officially requested the Crime Investigation Bureau (CIB) to begin their investigation, and Chief Arun Pokharel personally visited the CIB for this purpose.
Nasu Rewant Khadka stated in his testimony that he was arrested based on that written request.
However, delays in the police investigation occurred, with some police officers reportedly influenced, leading to a halt in the inquiry.
After public exposure, the CIB resumed their investigation and filed a fraud case on March 30, 2024.
Charges were filed against all involved in the gold smuggling, although attempts were made to weaken the case within the CIB.
Cases were not filed against the traveler and other key suspects, and former Speaker Mahara and his sons were not investigated.
Though the smuggling occurred during the previous government under Prime Minister Prachanda, it failed to reach political levels of accountability.
Investigations recommenced after the government changed, leading to arrests of some accused.
The District Court found Nasu Rewant Khadka and Dinesh Basnet guilty of gold theft and convicted them for criminal breach of trust.
Despite transactions exceeding NPR 60 million, the court recognized only NPR 30 million as the official loss.
Internal audits indicated that employees were involved in relocating the goods, which resulted in their sentence with imprisonment and fines.
Whistleblowers Face Charges
The gold smuggling whistleblowing was suppressed for a long time, but the CIAA last week filed corruption cases against 28 individuals, including those who initially reported the smuggling.
At the time of the incident, the chief customs administrator Arun Pokharel was abroad, and the complaint was registered once he returned. However, the commission has found them culpable as well.
After modifications, the customs office conducted X-ray examinations, but the police reportedly neglected proper investigation during vape inspections.
Evidence submitted in the district court revealed that the investigation led by employees concealed the gold smuggling.
The commission accused the whistleblowers of collusion, assigned ‘criminal responsibility’ to the department heads, and claimed they facilitated the buying and selling of gold within the vapes.
Department heads maintain they were unaware and unable to prevent the smuggling, asserting that all procedures were conducted transparently.
According to the District Court verdict, security guard Nirmal Bik stole a suitcase and informed smugglers, and he also provided information related to gold sales.
The theft of gold concealed inside the vapes was reportedly orchestrated under the plan of Deputy Secretary Muktiprasad Shrestha, with no CCTV installed in the warehouse, enabling the theft.
Customs Officer Ambikaprasad Khanal faces allegations of suppressing information and misreporting valuations.
However, the court’s ruling and documents do not fully validate all commission accusations and note that investigation began only after the customs office complaint.
Ultimately, the District Court found that the investigation into the staff responsible for the warehouse and their team started only after the airport customs office filed the complaint.
