Indian woman arrested among four foreign nationals in major drug trafficking case in Nepal

Lina Portman2 weeks ago

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Nepalese police announced Thursday the arrest of four foreign nationals, including an Indian woman. The individuals were arrested for their alleged involvement in cocaine trafficking worth millions of rupees.

Nepalese police identified the arrested suspects as a 39-year-old Tanzanian citizen, Donald Jackson Mabuga, and another 33-year-old Bolivian, Laura Kruz Tikon. The third suspect arrested was identified as a 39-year-old man. The Venezuelan citizen, Simon Antino Alfonjo Rada, and the fourth person arrested was a 27-year-old Indian woman, Lalruta Sangi. They were arrested with a total of 4,504 kilograms of cocaine, worth ₹158 million, according to SSP Dinesh Acharya, head of the Narcotics Control Bureau of the Nepal Police.

The arrests were announced at a press conference held in Kathmandu. According to police reports, Donald Jackson Mabuga ingested 18 plasticized cocaine capsules and traveled to Kathmandu from Ethiopia. Police recovered 1,206 kilograms of cocaine from his possession.

Bolivian national Laura Kruz Tikon had hidden 2.1 kilograms of cocaine in 121 cotton buds. She was arrested three days earlier at Tribhuvan International Airport upon arrival on an Emirates Airlines flight from Brazil and Tanzania.

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Venezuelan citizen Simon Antino Alfonjo Rada also ingested 39 capsules of cocaine, weighing 1.198 kilograms. He was arrested on Wednesday at a hotel in Thamel, a well-known tourist center in Kathmandu, following a tip-off.

According to reports, Indian national Lalruta Sangi was arrested at the same hotel in Thamel when she arrived to buy drugs. Authorities said Sangi intended to transport the drugs to the national capital, New Delhi.

Following the arrest of the four individuals, police have also launched an in-depth investigation into this matter with the aim of uncovering the wider network that may be involved in this international drug trafficking operation.