KATHMANDU: On May 21, police arrested nine foreign women from the Thamel area of Kathmandu. A team from the Police Circle, Lainchaur, arrested them on charges of soliciting tourists for sexual activities during the night. The women, aged 22 to 42 years, were from Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Uganda.

According to Superintendent of Police (SP) Pawan Kumar Bhattarai, the spokesperson for the District Police Range Kathmandu, they had come to Nepal on ‘visit visas.’ Having arrived in Nepal on a 90-day visa, they lived by forming some sort of ‘gang’ in Thamel. They would step out of their rooms after nightfall.

After the District Administration Office fined them Rs 10,000 for the offense of indecent behavior, the police sent them to the Department of Immigration. The Department of Immigration ‘deported’ them with a ban on entering Nepal for one year.

According to SP Bhattarai, the police arrested the women during an ‘inspection.’

“We arrested them after they were found blocking the path, bargaining with foreign and domestic tourists, and soliciting them for sexual activities,” Bhattarai says. “We are monitoring both domestic and foreign citizens engaging in such activities in the Thamel area.”

Thamel is known as a foreign and domestic tourist destination due to its nightlife, hotels, restaurants, travel agencies, trekking businesses, clubs, dance bars, and shops selling handicrafts. Since the Thamel area remains open 24 hours a day, it has also become a destination for those who want to enjoy entertainment, drink alcohol, and have fun in restaurants, clubs, and dance bars at night. In Thamel, where security personnel of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City also patrol at night, the police have been monitoring lately after illegal activities involving foreign citizens were observed.

In that process, when a joint team of the police and the metropolis monitored restaurants, clubs, dance bars, and areas that remain open all night, the incident of foreign women coming to Nepal specifically for sexual activities came to light.

This is not the first incident where foreign women have been arrested. On the night of March 24, the police had also arrested 20 foreign women. All of them were from Uganda.

“During the inspection, it was found that an organized group of foreign women was involved in the prostitution business in the Thamel area,” says SP Bhattarai.

36 foreigners arrested, 20 deported in a year

At least three months ago, a woman who had come from Uganda on a visit visa called the police. She complained to the police that she had been mistreated. The police started an investigation into the woman’s complaint. The woman had entered into a verbal altercation with a tourist during the proposal for sexual activity.

Police investigations have revealed that women from Uganda come on visit visas to engage in illegal activities in Thamel to stave off economic crises. According to the police, the same woman who came into contact with the police had called other women from Uganda to Kathmandu.

“It was found that she enticed the eight deported individuals by telling them that they could earn money by engaging in safe sexual activities in Nepal,” SP Bhattarai says. “In Thamel, they usually stayed in the same room, engaged in sexual activities during the night, and reaped financial benefits from it.”

According to the police, the women involved in such activities belong to different countries. They have formed their own separate groups. In the current fiscal year, 36 foreign women have been arrested on charges of prostitution. Among them, the highest number was found to be from Uganda. The police had arrested 28 individuals who came from Uganda. Among them, 20 individuals have been deported by the Department of Immigration.

This year, the police arrested four Vietnamese women. They have also been deported. Under the special police monitoring campaign, two Thai and two Bangladeshi women have also been arrested from the Thamel area.

Considering the risk of human trafficking, exploitation of women, drug trafficking, violence, and organized crime in Nepal, an open sex market or “red-light area” has not been designated. Therefore, the police arrest those who operate sexual activities commercially or involve others in such a business in accordance with human trafficking offenses. Incidents of the sex business, human trafficking, and illegal activities involving foreign citizens come to light from time to time in Thamel, Durbarmarg, certain dance bar-centered areas, or border markets.

Spas and massage centers under police monitoring

Tourism businesses continue in Thamel, which developed as a hub for tourists coming to Nepal after the 1970s. Tourists from various countries of the world can be seen there 24 hours a day. Narrow alleys, colorful lights, music-filled clubs, cafes, and multilingual signboards have given Thamel a distinct identity compared to other areas.

Thamel has become an entertainment hub as well as an area directly linked to the economy through tourism. The employment of thousands of people is tied to this area through trekking companies, money exchanges, travel agencies, mountaineering gear shops, hotels, and transport services. Thamel is considered the “base hub” for foreign tourists going to the Annapurna, Everest, and Langtang regions.

However, due to its nighttime activities and open environment, Thamel comes into controversy from time to time by being linked to criminal activities. The police maintain monitoring in Thamel because incidents such as illegal drug trafficking, unauthorized currency transactions, the sex business, visa misuse by foreign citizens, fraud, and nighttime fights occur.

“Undercover police are deployed in such places; if sexual activities are found taking place, we arrest and take action against them,” says the Chief of the Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation Office, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Santosh Khadka.

Complaints reach the police from time to time that not only foreigners but also domestic women operate sex businesses in Thamel. Complaints reach the police that women are seen searching for clients and taking clients to hotels if a bargain is struck. The police claim that they discourage such sexual activities conducted as a business, except for those done by mutual consent.

Based on information that sex businesses were taking place in spas and massage centers across the capital’s three districts that are Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, and Lalitpur the Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation Office conducted raids on May 3. In this process, 258 individuals, including 240 women and 18 men, were arrested. However, clear evidence of operating a sex business was not found.

“The establishments failed to meet regulatory standards and aggressively forced passersby into their facilities,” stated SSP Santosh Khadka, chief of the Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation Office. “Their indecent operations also caused significant public embarrassment to the surrounding neighborhood.” Consequently, police prosecuted 30 operators running 30 different spas across Kathmandu and Lalitpur on charges of disturbing public peace and order.