Nepali traffickers, from mules to organised drug syndicates
By Bikash Sangraula & Jitendra Shah
KATHMANDU, May 14
Until five years ago, the involvement of Nepali citizens in international drug trafficking was limited largely to the role of drug mules. Mostly, the poverty-stricken Nepalis were used as drug porters between foreign destinations, with their intestines loaded with hashish and heroine wrapped in leaky foils that barely held the consignments intact during the arduous and risky travels.
Many of them were arrested in countries like Thailand, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, the United States, Pakistan and Equador on drug trafficking charges, while others were lucky to elude detection. While the former are facing tough times in foreign jails, some with life sentences, the latter became smarter building on their experiences of operating as drug traffickers on routes that carried high risks of detection and a death penalty.
Experts working to control narcotics say the situation has turned worse thanks to the lifting of ban on opium plantation in India. This has geared up opium plantation significantly in the region. Similarly, the fact that Nepal lies between the golden triangle, the borderline between Laos, Myanmar and Thailand, and the golden crescent, the mountainous peripheries of Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
"The case is more worrisome now," noted a highly placed official at the Unit for Legal Enforcement and Control of Illegal Drugs, adding, "Elaborate drug syndicates with wide international networks have propped up in Nepal during the last five years."
During this period, there has been a massive increase in the production of opium poppies in India as well as the plains of Nepal. This opium is exported to Thailand, one of the biggest drug hubs in the world. These poppies are used to produce hashish and heroine there, and distributed throughout the world.
"The lifting of ban by the Indian government on the production of opium is one of the major reasons behind increased opium production in the region," claimed the source. This recent development has added Nepal as a significant member in the international drug network. Presently, the drug-lords in Nepal have networks with countries like Nigeria, Pakistan, India and Thailand. That makes the involvement of Nepalese nationals in drug trafficking two-fold, as producers as well as porters.
On May 6, two Nepalese drug porters, Tek Bahadur Ghale, 52 and his female companion Nara Maya Khewang, 34, were arrested at Bangkok International Airport for carrying 2.3 kilograms of hashish in their luggage and 95 swallowed capsules of the same. Similarly, a month ago, Urget Ghale and Suresh Gurung were arrested at the same place for carrying hashish and heroine.
This is not the end to the list. In the last ten years, 222 Nepalese citizens have been arrested in Thailand, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, the United States, Pakistan and Equador on drug trafficking charges. Interestingly, Nepalese traffickers form the largest number of drug traffickers between foreign destinations the world over, according to the source. Most of the Nepalese drug traffickers arrested between foreign destinations were found to be carrying hashish.
"Since the traffickers keep on discovering newer and safer routes, capitalising on security loopholes, it is hard to track them," said another source at the Valley Crime Investigation Branch, Hanumandhoka. Until five years ago, most of the traffickers reached Thailand via Indonesia, Pakistan and Macao. However, after significant arrests were made on these routes, Dhaka developed as a safer transit point.
During the last seven years, the number of Nepalese drug traffickers arrested abroad has been constantly on the rise, with 46 arrests in 1996, 32 in 1997, 42 in 1999 and 54 in 2000. "Contrary to common belief, none of them were unjustly arrested. All of them were found carrying between two to 2,000 kilograms of hashish and heroine."
The laws of Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, China, Srilanka, Burma and even India can provide death penalties for drug traffickers. That is the reason why most international drug traffickers are reluctant to venture as drug mules through such routes. However, the lure of easy cash, and that too in dollars, makes hapless Nepalese easy victims.
"We cannot gauge the extent of drug trafficking and consumption on the basis of arrests and the confiscated drugs. I am personally of the opinion that the business has attained unmanageable proportions. The traffickers have become smarter and thus most of them escape justice," said the source.
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