KATHMANDU, July 18: The Vice Chairman of the ruling CPN (Maoist Center), Krishna Bahadur Mahara and his son Rahul Mahara have been linked to a gold smuggling case involving collusion with staff at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) customs office.

The Mahara father-son duo were allegedly involved in stealing gold concealed inside e-cigarettes at the TIA. A report submitted by the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police to the government attorney’s office claims that senior Mahara and his son contacted the customs department staff multiple times, pressuring them to auction the e-cigarettes. The CIB report contains the call details of the Mahara father-son duo, the gold importer Chinese nationals, and other contacts related to the case.

According to CIB sources, former Speaker Mahara and his son Rahul Mahara appear to be connected to the gold smuggling group. The investigation revealed that Mahara's father and son had communicated with customs officials, claiming the goods belonged to their business partner and should be put up for auction. The police discovered this connection through call details (CDR), and their mobile numbers were included in the police report submitted to the public prosecutor's office in Kathmandu.

Mahara's son, Rahul, has admitted to having a phone conversation with the customs office initially, but he stated that he was unaware of the content of the goods or his acquaintance's business. He clarified that they were only informed about the goods much later, and there was no pressure to release them at the time of the conversation.

Former Speaker Mahara had previously faced controversy over his alleged demand of Rs 500 million from Chinese businessmen. An audio tape was released on September 6, 2010, where he was heard making the demand from an unidentified Chinese businessman. Now, he is under scrutiny again for his involvement in the release of gold brought by Chinese gold smugglers.

According to sources, Chinese nationals Lui, Wang Daojing, along with Lokendra Paudel, Khuwa Prasad Neupane, Rahul Mahara, and others, were identified as contacts involved in a group that smuggled gold concealed inside e-cigarettes through the TIA customs. The CIB source revealed that Rahul Mahara had shown interest in this activity on multiple occasions. On December 25, 2022, a Chinese passenger named Li Hansong arrived in Nepal from a Fly Dubai flight, number FZ-0587, carrying a substantial amount of gold hidden inside e-cigarettes (vape) in his luggage. Customs authorities confiscated the e-cigarettes at that time but released the passengers. After the passengers departed, Chinese nationals used intermediaries to establish contact with Mahara who has already become the country’s Deputy Prime Minister overseeing crucial ministries like Information and Communication, Home Affairs, and Foreign Affairs, and his son. The source revealed that other Chinese citizens were also involved, maintaining contact with the Mahara father-son duo.

During the subsequent events, a non-gazetted first-class official of TIA Customs, Rewant Khadka, Customs Agent Dinesh Basnet, and a guard collaborated to extract the gold from the e-cigarettes and sold it for approximately Rs 60 million, which was valued at around Rs 90 million. The police estimated that the Chinese citizen who had brought the gold from Dubai on December 25 might have entered Nepal on seven different occasions, potentially being involved in multiple smuggling attempts. The police report indicated that Dinesh Basnet, the mastermind behind the gold sale, was a customs agent. Alongside Khadka from the customs office at the airport, Basnet stole and sold nine kilos of gold. However, before the gold disappeared, they attempted to arrange an auction through the Mahara father and son duo.

On February 12, 2023, the customs department forwarded an item for investigation to the CIB after raising suspicions. The item in question was found to contain 730 electric cigarettes, organized in 73 packs and placed inside two suitcases. As the non-combusted cigarettes were deemed illegal, the customs office seized them and kept the box in their warehouse. It is customary to collect confiscated goods and send them for auction within a few months, so the said goods remained in the warehouse for approximately 50 days. The Customs Office at TIA requested the CIB to investigate the matter when the Mahara father and son duo showed unnecessary interest in the goods slated for auction.

"After facing repeated pressure from the political level to proceed with the auction, the customs staff suspected that other goods might be concealed within the box. This led to the decision to hand it over to the police," stated a customs source. The police's investigation report revealed that Rewant Khadka, Dinesh Basnet, Nirmal BK, Dipesh Basnet, and Gopal Subedi were in contact with a gold buyer named Ved Prakash Agarwal. The report also mentioned other members of the gold buying group, including Ganesh Badu, Saheb Rao Margela, Sachin Pawar, and Nandu Kumar.

The main individuals involved in the disappearance of the gold from the airport were identified as non-gazetted first-class official Khadka, who had the responsibility for the godown under the legal section of the Tribhuvan Airport Office, Gauchar, Dinesh Basnet (32) from Sunkoshi-6, Sindhupalchok, and Ved Prakash Agarwal (54) from India, residing in Bhotebahal, Kathmandu. Additional suspects included Saheb Rao (39), currently residing in Kathmandu, Amrit Karki (32) from Sunkoshi-6, Sindhupalchok, residing at Shantinagar, Kathmandu, Nirmal Kumar BK (22), residing in Pokhara with a permanent address at Kathekhola-3, Baglung, Dipesh Basnet (29) from Sunkoshi-6, Sindhupalchok, currently residing at Kageshwari Manhara, and Gopal Subedi (42), with a permanent address at the same location and currently living in Pepsicola. The police have arrested these individuals, but Ram Keshav Thapa from Kavre, Banepa, remains at large. Criminal charges for treachery and organized crime-related offenses have been filed against all involved parties.

 
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