"We have initiated legal action after our investigation including lab tests found that the vehicles were smuggled," said Gurung. [break]
"The chassis numbers of some jeeps were found scratched out and the number plates were tampered. Along with the jeeps, the transport and custom offices involved will also face investigation," said Gurung.
Police are still searching for three more such vehicles, informed Gurung. Most of the seized jeeps are manufactured by Indian automaker Mahindra.
The District Police Office, Baglung and the District Transportation Office both have joined hands to investigate the scam. Of the seized jeeps some are registered with District Transportation Office, Dhaulagiri and others with the transportation offices in Gandaki and Lumbini.
"We have found that all the caught jeeps were operating in Baglung after acquiring permission from the district transportation office," said Chief of Baglung District Transportation Office Dharma Neupane.
In the meantime, the seizure of the vehicles has Pokhara vehicle dealers worried. "Some of the jeeps seized by police were sold from authorized showrooms," said a vehicle dealer. How can they take action so haphazardly because they should know that we don´t sell smuggled vehicles," the dealer said.
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