'Some 10,000 illegal small arms in capital'

KATHMANDU, Aug 15: Nepal Police, for the first time in its history, recently busted a major small arms racket that reportedly imported the weapons from India and retailed them to criminal gangs in the Valley.

The arrest of Sanjaya Gole at Kapan a few days ago allegedly in possession of a 9mm pistol led to the apprehension of Jainuddin Ansari at Jitpurbazar, Bara district on Saturday.

Ansari, a trader in buffalos, would supply small arms to Gole who is based in the capital, police said. Gole reportedly admitted during preliminary interrogations that he had been merchandising pistols for eight years. He is said to have sold at least a dozen pistols to different criminal gangs that he has not named so far.

“Never before had we broken through the surface,” said an official involved in the operation. “We would generally arrest the arms bearers and not investigate further. So the key players would always remain untouched.”

“This is a major achievement,” said Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Rana Bahadur Chand, chief of Metropolitan Police Crime Division (MPCD). “Reaching through to the weapons suppliers is an arduous task.”

The incident comes at a time when the prevalence of small arms has hugely undermined security in the Valley. Investigative officials with substantial experience in anti-arms operations estimate there are over 10,000 illegal small arms in the country´s most populous city. The seizure by three different police teams of 16 small arms in the last six months only indicates the dangerous state of affairs.

´Capital, haven for small arms´

Republica has gotten hold of a secret Nepal Police report which officials said is the most factual and detailed ever prepared on small arms in the Valley.
The report has a range of facts from the main areas where small arms traffickers congregate to the prominent groups that seem to possess them. It also explains the entire process of small arms import, local prices and general merchandising methods.

Kathmandu has the largest number of illegal small arms compared to neighboring Lalitpur and Bhaktapur. The report mentions that ready availability of small arms in the metropolis is directly associated with crime stemming from economic activity, growing population density and a booming entertainment business.

Thamel, Durbarmarg, New Bus Park, Gongabu, Swayambhu and Kalanki top the localities in transactions in small arms. According to the report, Old Bus Park, Koteshwor, Bouddha and Jorpati are other sensitive areas for small arms. In Lalitpur, Mangalbazar, Gwarko, Bagdol, Bhaisepati and Chapagaon see maximum mobility of small arms traders. Lokanthali, Gatthaghar, Surya Binayak and Pandubazar in Bhaktapur have long witnessed the same hazards.

Who keeps small arms?

Facts disclosed by those accused or convicted in small arms cases and uncovered by police themselves show that those possessing small arms are mostly involved in organize crime like robbery, extortion and kidnapping, the report says.

Among others prone to small arms use are underground groups that have political cover but subsist on crime. Many that fled the UCPN (Maoist), political groups that separated from the same party, the Young Communist League (YCL) and CPN (UML)´s Youth Force have also been portrayed in the report as possessing small arms on a large scale.

Business entrepreneurs also keep small arms. Those involved in nighttime entertainment business, contractors, owners of manpower companies, realtors and proprietors of shopping malls have been identified by the report as possessing illegal weapons.

A variety of small arms are available in the capital´s illegal market. Pistols, sixers and katuwa in many calibers--7mm, 9mm, 12mm and 15mm, and six-shot revolvers are mostly to be found. Most are imported from India where the traders easily get them inscribed with any brand name they like.
Import routes

For Kathmandu, Thankot is the key entry point. If the destination is Lalitpur, the unguarded southern belt of the district--especially, Dakshinkali, Luvu, Lele and Chapagaon--is used. To bring small arms to Bhaktapur, they come thorugh Sangabhangyang, Sudal and Nagarkot.

The open, porous border Nepal shares with India has allowed an unchecked inflow of small arms to the southern Tarai and then on to the Valley, the major market.

Investigative officials interviewed by Republica, affirming many points in the report, said there are nine principal routes for bringing small arms from India to Nepal. The routes begin from the Indian towns of Raxul, Louki, Mujjafarpur, Jogbani, Lucknow, Sunouli, Banbasa and Gourifanda, which are close to the Nepal-India border, and cover different distances to reach the Valley.

Officials said small arms are brought into the capital mostly in vehicles ferrying livestock and vegetables. Vehicles that bring grain are also blamed. The report mentions that even ambulances and hearses are found to have carried small arms.

Big bucks

A katuwa easily purchased for Indian rupees 4,000 in India is sold here for anything between Rs 20,000 and 30, 000 (local currency). The report says a sixer costing 10,000 Indians rupees maximum south of the border fetches a comfortable Rs 40,000 when sold in Kathmandu. A pistol could bring in up to Rs 100,000, some 10-20 times the rate in India.

Small arms traders use individual contacts in generally three different steps, officials say. “One person manages to smuggle them across the border, then approaches another who carries them to half-way stations like Hetauda and Chitwan, and finally the third contact takes them to the capital,” said an official.
The report says that the first contacts based in the capital are mostly those with criminal backgrounds. They often deal with clients in public places.

Officials said many traders have even been running their businesses single-handed. But they don´t deal in large quantities.

“We are yet to investigate others connected with the contacts. There could be further layers,” said SSP Chand, referring to the Gole-Ansari racket.

Source: http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=22234