Pubdate: Sun, 09 Sep 2012 Source: Himalayan Times, The (Nepal) Copyright: 2012 The Himalayan Times Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/cvzLserF Website: http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5107 POST BEING USED TO SMUGGLE DRUGS KATHMANDU: Drug traffickers are pushing contraband abroad under the cloak of postal parcels, it has been revealed with law enforcement authorities intercepting their carriers at the international airport. The Narcotic Drug Control Law Enforcement Unit came to such a conclusion with the arrest of Irmasko Alex (27), a Russian national. Anti-drug officials had launched a serious investigation into the alleged involvement of the foreigner in smuggling narcotic drugs following the discovery of 340-gram hashish in a parcel registered at the Sundhara-based General Post Office to be delivered to an addresses in Moscow on September 30. The contraband was concealed in a consignment of kitchen utensils. Kiran Acharya (36), owner of the cargo company, was held for interrogation leading to the arrest of Alex on September 4. Subsequently, officials raided his rented room and seized 680 grams of hashish stuffed inside metal trays, apparently to send it abroad via post. Earlier on June 19, police seized two post bags containing 8.4 kg of hashish at Tribhuvan International Airport. The two parcels registered with the GPO were being delivered to Beijing and Amsterdam by air. However, officials are yet to identify the senders. According to the drug control unit, officials are coordinating with their counterparts in Beijing and Amsterdam to locate the prospective receivers. "Drug racketeers have switched to postal system to smuggle the contraband in small consignments following several arrests at the airport in recent times," said SSP Nawa Raj Silwal, deputy chief of the unit. A kg of hashish fetches more than $20,000 in Europe against Rs 10,000 in the Nepali black market. Investigators say the demand for Nepali hash is high in the international drug market due to its quality. Meanwhile, police today caught Kumar Karki (34) of Ramechhap, a worker at Naya Bazaar-based Hotel Garden, while he was trying to smuggle 100 grams of cannabis stuffed in a postal parcel to France through the GPO. - --- MAP posted-by: Matt