The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police arrested four foreign employment fraudsters who had abandoned 16 Nepalis in the United Arab Emirates.

According to the CIB, the suspects took 16 Nepalis to the UAE on tourist visas on the pretext of providing them with well-paying jobs and left them there to languish for months.The suspects have been identified as Ishwor Bhandari, 38, of Baglung; Birgha Man Gurung, 27, of Gorkha; Raju Ghale, 31, of Gorkha; and Bhanu Dhakal, 31, of Kailali. 

 Police said Bhandari owns a manpower company while Gurung and Ghale collect documents of the aspiring foreign employees. Dhakal owns a travel company.Superintendent of Police Jiwan Shrestha, spokesperson for the CIB, said the people waited without jobs in the UAE for at least three months.SP Shrestha said the arrestees had been running a racket that takes people to labour destinations on visit visas and abandon them there.

Police probe shows the victims had paid up to Rs500,000. “We are looking for other members of this racket who are operating from outside the country,” said SP Shrestha, adding that many other people might have been duped in similar fashion.The CIB said the Nepali Embassy in the UAE, along with the International Organization for Migration, Nepal and the Non-Resident Nepali Association National Coordination Committee (UAE) had aided the victims’ repatriation.