Nepal police intercepted a Bihar-based drug cartel using an ambulance to transport illegal drugs.
NEW DELHI: A drug cartel operating from Bihar was recently caught by Nepal police using a hospital ambulance, which had an elderly woman and two small children as cover, to deliver drugs to the Himalayan country.
Details accessed by The Sunday Guardian reveal that the Lalitpur police of Nepal stopped an Indian ambulance bearing registration number BR05 PA 0421 in the early morning of April 5, near Chapeli, Bhattedanda, Bagmati Rural Municipality-3, Lalitpur district. The ambulance was stopped for a routine vehicle check after being seen speeding from Birgunj towards Kathmandu.
According to official sources, initial investigations revealed that an individual named J.K. Khan, using an Indian phone number, contacted Mohammad Munna Ansari, the owner of the ambulance, instructing him to connect with a person referred to as “Prabhat Dai,” later identified as Prabhat Sah, an Indian national. After Ansari reached out, Prabhat informed him that a consignment of illegal drugs—later identified as 94,080 Tramadol capsules—needed to be transported to Kathmandu. Prabhat emphasised that other vehicles posed a risk of police seizure and that an ambulance with a patient would be necessary to evade detection.
Prabhat assured Ansari that an associate would collect the drugs upon arrival in Kathmandu. Following this, Ansari persuaded his ailing mother-in-law to travel to Kathmandu under the pretext of seeking medical treatment.
An individual sent by Prabhat, referred to as the “boss” in communications, delivered the drugs to Ansari.
Ansari then placed his sick mother-in-law in the ambulance and transported the consignment to Kathmandu under the cover of night, only to be intercepted by Nepal police on April 5.
Upon searching the ambulance, the police recovered a total of 94,080 capsules of Tramadol Hydrochloride. This included 54,000 capsules of Tramadol Hydrochloride Capsules IP (TRAMANIL) and 40,080 capsules of Tramadol Hydrochloride Capsules IP 50 mg (TRAMAN). In India, Tramadol is classified as a Schedule H1 prescription drug under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, requiring a doctor’s prescription for moderate to severe pain relief, such as post-surgical or chronic pain management. In Nepal, Tramadol is a controlled psychotropic substance under the Narcotic Drugs (Control) Act, 2033, legally available only through hospital pharmacies with a prescription.
However, its widespread abuse among young people in Nepal has raised alarms, with studies showing over 75% of drug users aged 15–29, including thousands of teens and young adults, misusing Tramadol as a recreational opioid, often sourced illegally from India’s porous border. The UNODC’s 2022 World Drug Report named Tramadol as a growing non-medical opioid, trafficked from South Asia to Africa and the Middle East.
During the check of the ambulance, the police found an 8-year-old boy, a 15-year-old girl, and a woman (Ansari’s mother-in-law) who were being used as cover by the traffickers to deliver the drugs under the pretence that they were taking her to a hospital for treatment. Police sources said all three were immediately released without interrogation.
Official sources said that the use of ambulances in drug trafficking should raise alarm bells across the country, as they are perceived by law enforcers as trusted vehicles and are rarely checked at checkpoints due to their emergency status, especially if there are ‘patients’ inside.
The scale of the seizure in this case is quite substantial, dwarfing smaller street-level busts. In Nepal, where Tramadol is a controlled substance, the quantity—equivalent to thousands of doses—suggests an intent for widespread distribution, not personal use. The sheer volume points to an organised operation, likely linked to a larger Bihar-based cartel.
“There is a very strong possibility that the same modus operandi is being used in India to deliver drugs from one place to another. Law enforcers need to be sensitised about the methods being adopted in Nepal,” an official, who was previously associated with anti-drug operations in Delhi, said.
Officials added that the accused hail from Motihari, East Champaran, which has quickly gained notoriety for drug-related crime. The fact that all the accused are young men (three under 23) hints at socioeconomic drivers like poverty or unemployment fuelling recruitment.
The police found the illegal drugs hidden in two separate bags, one white with a white stripe on black and the other white with a green stripe on black, inside the patient compartment of the ambulance.
The ambulance driver, who initially tried to conceal his identity and country of residence, was identified as Mohammad Umar Siddiqui, a 22-year-old resident of Ward No. 5, Raxaul, Motihari.
Speaking to The Sunday Guardian, Narhari Regmi, Superintendent of Police in Lalitpur, said all the accused are from Bihar.
“Investigation into the case is ongoing. They are denying that they have carried out similar activities in the past, but we are investigating.”
Apart from the driver Siddiqui, others arrested in the case include 20-year-old Samir Alam and Mohammad Munna Ansari. All of them are residents of Motihari.