A team of the Revenue Investigation Department and the Armed Police, who were following the container which had passed the forest inspection, seized it from Dailekh
What you should know
About 40,000 pieces of electronic cigarette vape have been found in the container that was sent to Humla as loaded with herbs. The Revenue Investigation Department and Armed Police Force APF team seized the container from the container sent by the Division Forest Office Simkot Humla after cutting the receipt and mentioning the herbs. About 40,000 pieces of ELFBAR brand vape have been recovered from the container.
On behalf of Divisional Forest Office Humla, Divisional Forest Officer Lokjung Shahi sent the container to Nepalgunj after passing the inspection, and the armed police seized it 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 million rupees.
In the name of Kunsang Dorjee Lama, the owner of Kailash Ishwar herb buying and selling center, 5000 kg Setak sugar Forest Office Humla had passed the container 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.
Lama, who was running an illegal business under the cover of herbal business, submitted an application to the forest on August 3 in the name of Kailash-Ishwar Herbs Buying and Selling Organization. Two days after that, Divisional Forest Officer Lokjung Shahi, Acting Head of Divisional Forest Office, Simkot Humla, passed the examination.
According to the application submitted to this office on 3rd of August for the request for permission for the export of the forest produce collected from Sharmthan National Forest according to the collection permit and being ghatgaddied in Namkha Rural Municipality-1 Humla, they went to the ghatgaddi site to weigh the forest produce according to the collection permit. Official Shahi checked the container and said that since the report for the export of forest produce from Sub-Division Forest Office Humla has been submitted with necessary documents, within 21 days from Ghatgaddi place, this concession has been given to take it to Nepalganj via Sallisalla, Bajura-Kalikot-Dailekh-Achham-Kailali-Bardia-Kohalpur.
He provided a pass to the container carrier saying that 'according to the rules, it is loaded in the Rohbar of the employees working at Sub-Division Office Humla, stamped with the number HUM-1 and then sent to the forest check posts along the way to be taken to the forest check posts.
Revenue Investigation Department source informed that further investigation is being conducted regarding the seizure of smuggled vape. Sources of revenue investigation said that as it seems that the smuggled vape may have been sent in the container mentioned as herbs with the connivance of the forest staff, the investigation is also ongoing against them.
Forester Santosh Khatri and another forest employee Krishna Bahadur Hamal had prepared a check pass letter to go to Nepalganj.
Even before, vape smuggled in from China was recovered from Lomanthang in Mustang and Imadol in Lalitpur.
