The arrested have been identified as Mukta Raj Malla, 26, resident of Tuxar-9 VDC of Lamjung district; Raj Kumar Thapa, 32, resident of Himayatnagar of Hyderabad, India; and the driver, Jibit Gurung, resident of Daunney Devi-3 of Nawalparasi district.CHITWAN, March 3: Three persons were arrested on Monday morning in illegal possession of diamond worth Rs 11 million, according to the District Police Office (DPO), Chitwan.
The arrested have been identified as Mukta Raj Malla, 26, resident of Tuxar-9 VDC of Lamjung district; Raj Kumar Thapa, 32, resident of Himayatnagar of Hyderabad, India; and the driver, Jibit Gurung, resident of Daunney Devi-3 of Nawalparasi district.
Police nabbed them from Godrang, Tikauli while they were travelling in a tourist bus headed for Bharatpur from Ratnanagar of Chitwan district.
Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers Association (Fenegosida) of Chitwan confirmed that the seized stones are diamonds.
According to DSP Rajan Adhikari at DPO Chitwan, the three had entered Nepal from India through the Sunauli bordert and then travelled to Pokhara and Kathmandu. "We received information about them when they were travelling to Chitwan with the intention to sell the stones," he said. The guilty will be booked in accordance with the Customs Act, he added.
Bependra Ramudamu, chairman of Fenegosida Chitwan said that the confiscated diamonds are of high quality and fetch much higher price in the international market.
Investigation is underway, informed Adhikari. "These diamonds could´ve been stolen. That´s why they were desperately trying to sell them as soon as possible", he added.
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