Police at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu have arrested an Indian man allegedly smuggling gold inside his body.
Who is the suspect?
The suspect, identified as 45-year-old Narpat Singh Solanki, holding Indian passport number B6644934, arrived in Kathmandu on Tuesday afternoon from Bangkok, Thailand, on Thai Lion Air flight SL–220.
According to Dan Bahadur Karki, Additional Inspector General (AIG) and Chief of Kathmandu Valley Police, Solanki’s behavior at the airport’s customs area raised suspicion. He tried to leave through a tunnel gate, which led police to detain him.
A video X-ray at KMC Hospital revealed that Solanki had hidden a lump of yellow metal, wrapped in plastic, inside his rectum. The metal weighed around 90 grams and is suspected to be gold. If the metal is confirmed to be 24-karat gold, its estimated value would be around NPR 1,696,388.
Police have recovered the item and handed it to the Kathmandu Valley Police Office’s accounts section. Solanki has been sent to the Kathmandu District Police Office for further investigation.
AIG Karki said the recovered gold will be handed over to Tribhuvan International Airport Customs Office in Sinamangal once it opens for official procedures.
