Nepal police detains 122 Chinese nationals in Kathmandu on suspicion of fraud

Nepal police have detained 122 Chinese nationals on December 24 in what is reportedly being seen as the biggest crackdown on crime by foreigners entering the Himalayan country illegally on tourist visas. Kathmandu chief of police said that the suspects were taken into police custody on Monday after authorities received information that they were engaged in suspicious activities.

The police chief, Uttam Subedi said that they doubt the suspects for carrying out cybercrime and hacking into bank cash machines. He mentioned that the suspects have been detained in different police stations and their passports and laptops have been seized. He further added that this is the first time these many foreigners have been taken into police custody for suspected criminal activities.

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Chinese people often taken into custody

The officials at the Chinese embassy were not immediately available for comment but a senior police officer said that the embassy knew about the raids and had backed the detention of the suspects. Reportedly, Chinese nationals are often taken into police custody in Asian countries on suspicion of involvement in various illegal activities which includes fraudulence.

The previous week, the authorities in the Philippines arrested 342 Chinese workers conducting a raid on an unlicensed gambling operation. In September, police have arrested five Chinese people on a charge of stealing money by hacking bank cash machines; a few were also arrested with smuggled gold this year.

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Nepal-China relations

On October 13, Nepal and China signed 18 agreements and two memorandums of understanding (MoU) following the conclusion of a state visit by China's President Xi Jinping to Nepal, as reported by local and Chinese media groups.

Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport of Nepal and the Ministry of Transport of the People's Republic of China have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the feasibility study of China-Nepal Cross-Border Railway project. Another MoU was signed between the Ministry of Finance of Nepal and the China International Development Cooperation Agency on tunnels construction cooperation.

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