BARDIYA – The Armed Police Force and Nepal Police have arrested 46 individuals, including one woman, for involvement in drug trafficking since mid-July of the current fiscal year.

During this period, authorities seized 27.02 grams of brown sugar and 2.69 grams of charas, according to the District Police Office, Bardiya.

Police said arrests began after a local administration-led search operation was launched in September last year to curb drugs smuggled from India. Bardiya shares an 83-kilometer border with India, with most trafficking reported through Badayatal Rural Municipality, Gulariya, and Madhuwan Municipality.

Traffickers told police that brown sugar is cheaper in Indian markets, prompting them to bring it across the border into Nepal. They also revealed that payments for smuggling vary depending on the distance. NPR 1,000 for border crossings, NPR 1,500 to reach the East-West Highway, and NPR 2,500 to deliver up to Surkhet.

In previous years, drug-related arrests in Bardiya have been significant. 91 people, including three women, were arrested in FY 2079/080, 207 people, including five women, in FY 2080/081, and 120 people, including one woman, in the last fiscal year, all involved in brown sugar smuggling.