Though Nepal police have been in alliance with foreign anti-narcotic agencies to a substantial extent for intelligence and operations purposes, they do not yet have a clear picture of the involvement of Nepali nationals in international drug trafficking, given the apathy in the country´s diplomatic channels toward citizens´ issues abroad.
On Thursday, the Malaysian High Court handed down the death penalty to two Nepalis found guilty of drug trafficking.
On Thursday, the Malaysian High Court handed down the death penalty to two Nepalis found guilty of drug trafficking. There is no detailed picture yet on how Hari Bahadur Ghale, 29, and Sajan Gurung, 30, were operating in Malaysia before being stung in a joint operation by the United States Drug Enforcement Agency (USDEA) and local police six years ago. However, officials at DCLEU said that both of them might be linked to drug syndicates operating with the involvement of or led and fostered by Nepali nationals in foreign lands.
"Nepali-born drug traffickers linked to major international syndicates abound, with some of them even on the most-wanted list," said an official.
Man Singh Ghale made news in April 2005 after he was shot dead by Indonesian police following the notorious ´Bali Nine´, a reference to the arrest of nine Australian heroin traffickers in Bali. Ghale, then 29, of Nuwakot was the country head of the ´Crescent Moon´ syndicate which is said to have operated out of the ´Golden Triangle´ region straddling parts of Thailand, Myanmar and Laos.
Ghale was also wanted by authorities in Nepal and Thailand while at the same time being pursued by USDEA for his part in schemes to smuggle large amounts of heroin to different countries. He was twice arrested by Indonesian police. He escaped after his second arrest from under the very noses of police guards. Upon his death at his own residence in Jakarta during a raid, Indonesian police said they had strangled a ´big fish´, one of the biggest drug bosses with a network abroad.
Nepal police do not have any further information about Ghale´s network but they surmise that he must have had Nepali connections as he was said to have smuggled heroin from Pakistan where a Nepali woman operates a huge smuggling ring.
Gopi Tamang, around 45, of Satyadevi-5 in Dhading is a noted drug smuggler based in Karachi and has long been on an international most-wanted list. Nine of her operatives including three Tanzanian nationals were arrested in Kathmandu on April 14, 2009 with heroin and illegal US currency in their possession. Among those arrested were her son Naresh, 25, a Nepal Army man and daughter Anita, 22. Gopi continues to live in Karachi with her Tanzanian boyfriend Musa who helps her with African connections. She has been operating in Pakistan at least since 2002.
Gopi visited Nepal under a fake identity before police dismantled her operations from Kathmandu. A drug trafficking case lodged against her by police is pending at Kathmandu District Court. As three out of the five Nepali drug carriers arrested in Singapore on August 29, 2009 along with three South Koreans were identified as hailing from Gopi´s birthplace, police suspect a connection with her.
"So far as we know Nepali drug traffickers have spread out as much as the Chinese, Japanese, Afghan and Burmese traffickers," said a senior official at DCLEU. "At least five Nepali nationals based in Bangkok, a so-called haven for traffickers, lead notorious rings."
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