Rajasthan police arrest drug trafficker hiding in Nepal for months, trap him near Raxaul border in Bihar

Rajasthan police arrest drug trafficker hiding in Nepal for months, trap him near Raxaul border in Bihar
Drug trafficker Sohanlal (left) & ANTF Inspector General Vikas Kumar (right) (Image via X)

Rajasthan Police have arrested Sohanlal, a 32-year-old drug trafficker who had been wanted for six years, near the Raxaul border in Bihar. On Saturday, October 10, the Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) confirmed that its team caught him after posing as drug buyers from Punjab and luring him out of Nepal, where he had been hiding for months.

Sohanlal carried a reward of Rs 75,000 and was among Rajasthan’s top 25 wanted drug criminals, ANTF Inspector General Vikas Kumar said. The arrest is the task force’s first breakthrough involving an internationally wanted person who had been absconding.

Operation Vishanhans: How police caught Sohanlal

The operation, code-named Vishanhans, began when ANTF officers contacted Sohanlal’s associates while pretending to be major drug buyers from Punjab. They offered to purchase a large consignment of drugs. His associates told them that only Sohanlal, who was staying in Nepal, could finalise such a big deal.

A meeting was then arranged outside Kathmandu’s Pashupatinath temple. However, Sohanlal failed to arrive at the agreed location. Further intelligence gathered by the team revealed that he regularly visited the temple, believing his religious visits would help him avoid arrest.

The officers then disguised themselves and began monitoring the area. One posed as a garland seller, another as a tilak applicator, while the others blended in with devotees. During surveillance, they spotted a man matching Sohanlal’s description.

The undercover officers gained his trust by posing as buyers and convinced him to proceed with the deal. They told him their chief was travelling from Punjab with a large amount of cash to buy the drugs. Citing security concerns about carrying so much money into Nepal, they persuaded Sohanlal to travel to the Raxaul border in Bihar to collect an advance payment.

As soon as he crossed into Indian territory with his team, ANTF personnel arrested him. Police said Sohanlal was preparing to leave Nepal for Bhutan on October 10, the day he was caught.

Sohanlal had been hiding since October 2025

According to the ANTF, Sohanlal fled to Nepal in October 2025 to escape arrest in a case registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act at Chittalwana police station in Rajasthan’s Jalore district in 2020.

After the case was registered, he went into hiding and moved between several states, including Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, Delhi, Chandigarh and Andhra Pradesh. Police said he avoided using a mobile phone to stay off the radar. He also spent time in Mumbai, where his father runs a steel business.

Even after moving to Nepal, Sohanlal continued running his drug supply network through associates in India.

Drug smuggling network across Rajasthan and other states

Police said Sohanlal entered the illegal liquor trade in 2016 but later shifted to smuggling doda chura (poppy husk) and opium because the business offered higher profits.

He initially worked with other smugglers in Barmer but later built his own network following a dispute over profit-sharing. His supply network reportedly covered Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan’s Mewar region, including Chittorgarh, Udaipur and Bhilwara. Through his associates, he also supplied consignments in the Marwar region and Punjab.

IG Vikas Kumar said the arrest was part of Rajasthan’s ongoing crackdown on drug smuggling. With Sohanlal’s arrest, the ANTF has now apprehended 103 wanted persons. Kumar also said the officers who took part in the operation would be honoured at the ANTF headquarters.

Written by OpIndia Staff
Last modified at