Around 40,000 pieces of ELFBAR brand vape have been recovered from the container. It is suspected that the forest staff and gang collusion passed the test and left.
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Around 40,000 electronic cigarette vapes were found in containers loaded with herbs collected in Humla. The Revenue Investigation Department and Armed Police Force (APF) team seized the container from the container sent by Division Forest Office, Simkot Humla, after cutting the receipt and mentioning the herb. Around 40,000 pieces of ELFBAR brand vape have been recovered from the container.
After the container was seized, the owner of the goods, Kunsang Dorjee Lama, absconded. In the container, three people, 27-year-old Chhiring Lama of Simkot in Humla and 32-year-old Janak Rokaye and 27-year-old Bhumi Rokaye of Mugu have been arrested. It is revealed that the driver of the land container is among those arrested. According to sources, Janak and Chiring are associates of the herbalist Lama.
Division Forest Officer Lokjung Shahi on behalf of Division Forest Office Humla, the container sent to Nepalganj as herbs was seized by armed police from Dailekh. When the seized container was taken to Nepalgunj and opened by the revenue and customs team, 39,900 vape and 2,466 kg of setak sugar smuggled in from China were found. Preliminary investigation has revealed that the recovered vape is worth around 10 crore rupees.
In the name of Kunsang Dorjee Lama, the owner of Kailash Ishwar herb buying and selling center, 5000 kg setak sugar was mentioned by the forest office Humla and the container was passed the inspection to reach Nepalgunj. The container was inspected after cutting a receipt of 1 lakh 25 thousand revenue mentioning 25 rupees per kg. But the revenue and armed police had monitored the container from the beginning on the suspicion that vape was being smuggled through Hilsa border via Taklakot in China. A team of revenue and armed forces followed the container and seized it from Dailekh.
Director General of Revenue Investigation Department Tirtharaj Chiluwal said that the seized vape was found in a container containing herbs left behind by the division ban office in Simkot and it was found to be part of an organized gang's plan.
Lama had submitted an application to the forest on August 3 in the name of the Kailash-Ishwar herb buying and selling organization. Two days after that, Divisional Forest Officer Lokjung Shahi passed the examination. After that, Forester Santosh Khatri and another forest employee Krishna Bahadur Hamal had prepared a letter of check pass to go to Nepalganj.
According to revenue and security sources, the role of Forest Acting Chief Shahi in allowing the passing of vape from containers that were passed in the name of herbs is suspicious, sources said. According to the sources, facts of 'unnatural antagonism' have also been found between Lama, who is currently absconding, and the Deputy Divisional Forest Officer. Sources say that the investigation into this matter is also ongoing.
It is also revealed that Shahi has been working in the Humla Forest Office for the past 16 years. After suspecting that the gang might be running the smuggling business with the forest employees in hand, the revenue has increased the surveillance on the forest employees.
Chandraveer Gurung, Divisional Forest Officer of Humla, has been at the Ministry of Forests in Surkhet since July 6. After that, Shahi got the responsibility of Nimitta. A month later, on 3 August, Lama submitted an application to the forest department for the inspection of herbs. Two days after that, on 5 August, Shahi, acting head of forest, approved the test pass. Based on that, a pass was given for the container to go to Nepalgunj.
Revenue officials say this was a planned smuggling operation with herbs on top of the container and vapes sealed in cartons below. "Vapes have been recovered from a container sent by the forest as herbal product Setak Chini. The preliminary investigation shows that this may have been the plan of an organized gang, as the items other than those that passed the inspection were found in the container," Director General Chiluwal told Kantipur. The vape was recovered from Lomanthang in Mustang and Imadol in Lalitpur.
