EVACUATION OF REMAINING TOURISTS BEGIN FOR THIRD DAY

EVACUATION OF REMANING STRANDED TOURISTS RESUME

Kathmandu, 9 Nov. Evacuation of remaining tourists in the Mount Everest region began for the third continuous day Wednesday as a break in the weather continues.
More than 1,700 tourists with their guides and helpers were stranded for one week at Solokhumbu with airports unserviceable because of inclement weather.
More than 3,500 tourists were stranded.
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CANADIAN DRUG DEALER WANTED IN INDIA FREED

Kahmandu, 9 Nov.: A Canadian national of Chinese origin wanted in India for running a major drug racket, who was arrested in Nepal in August for not possessing a passport and in possession of 40,000 Hong Kong dollars in illegal cash, was deported to Canada by Nepali immigration authorities on Tuesday, Bikash Sangraula wriites in Republica..

The deportation took place despite a pending case of illegal foreign currency possession against him in Nepal, and pressure from India to hand him over to Indian authorities for investigation over possession of methamphetamine back in 2008.
Xie Jeng Fang alias Richard flew from Kathmandu to Canada by a Thai Airways flight at 1 pm Tuesday, an immigration official confirmed.

Fang was deported by the Department of Immigration (DoI) following orders from the Ministry of Home Affairs that took the decision to free him a week ago, the official added.

While Fang is still being investigated by the Department of Revenue Investigation for possessing illegal foreign currency, he escaped major punishment in two other serious charges.

For the immigration offence he committed by entering the country without a passport, let alone visa, he was made to pay fines.

Meanwhile, a Public Offense Case filed against him by police at District Administration Office, Kathmandu, for bashing up uniformed cops at the Narcotics Drug Control Law Enforcement Unit (NDCLEU) at New Baneshwar while being interrogated was settled after making him pay a fine of Rs 10,000, a police official involved in investigating him said.

Fang was arrested by Indian police in Vadodara, Gujarat, in 2008 for possessing 1.5 kilograms of potent drug methamphetamine. Based on interrogation of Fang while he was in judicial custody in Vadodara Central Jail, Indian police seized 110 kilograms of methamphetamine from a factory in Vadodara. Fang fled Indian police on April 28 this year.

A Nepali police official involved in investigating Fang said he was initially investigated by DoI for immigration offence and then handed over to NDCLEU where he was investigated for possible drug trade in Nepal.

“During investigation, we were informed by Indian police about his involvement in drug trade in India,” said a police official at NDCLEU.

Indian officials also sought his extradition, according to Indian media reports. “We will make arrangements for bringing him back to the country after receiving instructions from the center in this regard,” the Press Trust of India reported Vadodara Police Commissioner Satish Sharma as saying on October 10, following Fang´s arrest in Nepal.

Meanwhile, the NDCLEU handed Fang over to the DoI after investigations showed that he was not involved in any drug crime in Nepal. “After being detained for at least two months, he was again handed over to us by the DoI that said our investigation had not been thorough,” said a police official. “We eventually handed him over to DoI again before Tihar holidays,” he added.

Born in China, Fang migrated to Canada in early 1980s, police said. The methamphetamine drug he was arrested with in India is a new fascination of drug dealers and users across the world as it is less costly and less time consuming to produce, while being as potent as cocaine and heroin.
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