Upholding the judgment passed by the Paro District Court, the High Court sentenced four men from Paro to prison terms ranging from five to nine years. They were convicted of gold smuggling, solicitation, bribery and abuse of function. The court passed the judgment last week.
The smuggling racket was uncovered by the Police in 2019. They were all arrested for their involvement in smuggling 31 Kgs of gold.
The High Court sentenced 40-year-old Rinchen Tshering to five years in prison for smuggling and solicitation. He was the mastermind who planned the racket. The investigation found out that he sent the other convicts to the border to bring in the gold.
The court also convicted Gyem Dorji and Lhab Gyeltshen of smuggling and bribery. According to the judgment, they bribed Chencho Tshering of the Royal Bhutan Army when he intercepted them. Chencho Tshering was with the army officials at the border. The convicts threw away three kgs of gold and gave five kgs to Chencho to let them go. They took the rest and fled from the team. While Lhab Gyeltshen was sentenced to nine years in prison, Gyem Dorji will have to serve a reduced sentence of only five years for cooperating with the investigating team.
Meanwhile, Chencho Tshering was sentenced to nine years for accepting the bribe and abuse of function. From the five kgs of gold he received from the convicts, he hid two kgs and handed over only three kgs to the army team. He also let the convicts go after receiving the bribe.
The court also ordered the convicts to pay varying amounts to the government in accordance with the worth of gold they have already sold.
They appealed to the High Court in January this year.
Kinley Dem
Edited by Sonam
