Nepal police arrested recruiters for Russian army for war in Ukraine
Russia is recruiting residents of Nepal for the war in Ukraine (Photo: Getty Images)
Nepal police have arrested ten individuals who were extorting vast sums of money from unemployed young people for tourist visas, then sending them for illegal recruitment into the Russian army, according to Reuters.
Bhupendra Khatri, the police chief in the Kathmandu district, reported that the ten individuals are in custody following arrests over the past few days.
"We are discussing with the government lawyers about the case and will produce them to the court," Khatri told Reuters.
Khatri stated that the detainees unlawfully took amounts up to $9,000 from each person and sent them to Russia with tourist visas, primarily through the UAE. Subsequently, they were sent to the Russian army.
"It is a case of human smuggling ... organized crime," Khatri added.
Recruitment of Nepali citizens
This week, Nepal requested Moscow not to recruit its citizens into the Russian army and to send all Nepali soldiers back to the Himalayan country after six of its citizens serving in the Russian army were killed.
Nepal, situated between China and India, asked Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022, to compensate the families of the killed Nepali citizens.
Nepali soldiers, known as Gurkhas, served in the British and Indian armies under agreements with the three countries after India gained independence in 1947. There is no such agreement with Russia.
Millions of Nepalis are employed in civilian jobs, mostly as workers in industrial plants and construction sites in South Korea, Malaysia, and the Middle East.
