ITAHARI, Aug 18: Police have arrested seven drug dealers from Laukahi of Koshi Rural Municipality in Sunsari and disclosed their identities.

Police arrested them along with brown heroin on Saturday evening. The arrested individuals have been identified as Dil Bahadur Rai, 45, and Nabin Koirala, 41 of Barahakshetra-7; Shiva Nath Thakur, 22, of Itahari-4; Rupesh Bishwokarma, 24, and Kanak Bahadur Khatiwada of Belka-9, Udayapur; Lokendra Mandal, 19 of Inaruwa-2 and Om Bahadur Karki, 36 of Barahakshetra-3. Police have seized a total of 16.93 milligrams of brown heroin from the arrested individuals.

Sunsari is the second largest district in the country in terms of drug users after Kathmandu. Itahari in Sunsari has been identified as the main transportation hub for the drug trade.

According to those involved in the drug trade, drugs are transported everywhere in the villages of Itahari. Police said that Dharan, Inruwa, Bhantabari, Jhumka and others are the other major drug dealing centers in Sunsari.

If police activity increases at any checkpoints of Sunsari area, drug traffickers change their route of drug trade. Recently, it has appeared that drugs are being transported from the eastern embankment areas of ​​the Saptakoshi through the Baraha area to Dharan and the hill districts. Police claim that the open border crossing in this area has facilitated the smuggling of drugs.