RAUTAHAT, July 6: Security personnel have seized smuggled garments worth around Rs 100 million from a warehouse in Haripurwa Municipality, Sarlahi.
The garments, smuggled in from India and stored in a house at Dhankaul, Ward 3, were recovered during a joint operation by the Armed Police Force, Nepal Police and the Sarlahi Customs Office.
The raid was carried out on the directive of the Armed Police Force No. 2 Brigade Headquarters in Bardibas, Mahottari. The joint team also seized two police vans and a pickup truck loaded with the illegal garments.
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According to DIG Bishnu Prasad Bhatt of the Armed Police Force No. 2 Brigade, the operation was launched after authorities received a tip off that smuggled garments were being stored at the house of local trader Satyanarayan Sah.
"We surrounded the house from all sides and recovered a large quantity of smuggled garments during the raid," Bhatt said.
The garments had been smuggled across the Indian border and stored in Dhankaul village, about seven kilometres north of the border. The seized goods have been handed over to the Malangawa Customs Office for legal action.
Authorities described the seizure as one of the biggest successes in the recent anti-smuggling campaign in Sarlahi.
Earlier, on June 25, the Armed Police Force seized 249 sacks of pumpkin seeds that were being loaded onto four Indian registered pickup trucks and one Nepali truck at the Hathiyol border point in Balara Municipality, Ward 2.
Security officials claim that since DIG Bhatt took charge, a special campaign has been launched against smuggling networks operating along the border. The seizure of smuggled garments and pumpkin seeds worth millions of rupees in a single month highlights Sarlahi's role as a major transit route for illegal trade.
Allegations of collusion between smugglers and some security personnel stationed along the border have persisted for years. Although the district has two Armed Police Force units and eight Border Outposts, or BOPs, officials say suspected links between some security personnel and smugglers continue to hamper efforts to curb illegal trade.
Sources say smuggling remains active through several eastern border points in Sarlahi, including Tribhuvannagar, Sakhuwa, Parsa, Sangrampur, Narayanpur, Khutauna and Bhandsar.
