One of the two women arrested on Monday from Tribhuvan International Airport was travelling to Oman on a tourist visa and traffickers had assured her of a work permit once she lands in the Gulf sultanate, police said.

Nepal’s law on foreign employment requires people to obtain a work permit before going abroad for work.

Niti BK (name changed) of Sankhuwasabha had obtained a tourist visa and was heading for Oman while she was rescued on Monday. 

In her statement to police, BK said that a person had assured her of a work permit in Oman that would allow her to work there as a housemaid for a couple of years. 

Police said there is a growing trend among the travels and tours companies smuggling women into various destinations on tourist visa. And many women like BK have been falling prey to these companies functioning discreetly in the country. 

“It is impossible for these persons to acquire visit visa or re-entry without support from immigration officials,” said Senior Superintendent of Police Sarbendra Khanal, chief of Metropolitan Police Crime Division, Teku, on Tuesday. 

According to SSP Khanal, these travel and tours companies assure women of a better job overseas. However, often times, they are either forced to work in harsh conditions or abuse victims of domestic violence. 

“However, we don’t get enough cooperation from the rescued persons, making our investigation daunting,” said SSP Khanal.

In the case of BK, she had already stayed in Saudi Arabia as a migrant worker. She claims to have paid Rs20,000 to a person who had arranged her the tourist visa.

Thanks to their a large nexus, the travel and tour companies can arrange tourist visa quite easily. The immigration officers at the airport are part of the larger “setting”, used to describe the nexus, who ensure that the women board their plane to the respective destination. However, acquiring work permit would normally require individuals and companies to follow strict criteria and it goes through rigorous screening. 

Using travel and tours companies are among tactics that human traffickers employ to ferry women. Apart from manpower companies, police recently busted a marriage bureau that was trafficking Nepali women into various countries, including Korea and China, in the guise of finding an appropriate foreigner as life partner.