By Our Reporter It has been almost two weeks since the Central Investigation Bureau of Nepal Police seized 33 kg of gold from Pingansthan and arrested three carriers. But the police have not yet traced the main persons involved in the smuggling. The delay in making public the big fishes involved in the criminal act has increased suspicions whether the smugglers were receiving protection from the powerful ministers. News has already been going around that Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara has given protection to the smugglers and he was one of the small fishes involved in the smuggling. Police had arrested Gopal Bahadur Shahi, who had flown in from UAE with the gold, from the airport gate and Dinbandhu Thapa of Morang and Santosh Kafle of Dhanush as per the information leaked by Shahi. The confiscated gold included 244 biscuits, 18 chains and 11 rings. The gold was wrapped inside polythene bags in two different luggages. It is a mystery that the police have failed to identify the owners of the gold even in two weeks. A few suspect whether the police have been trying to dismiss the case at the pressure from the political circle, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Mahara said that big fishes were involved in smuggling and he had instructed the authorities to investigate into the case. However, a few media have accused Mahara of his involvement in the smuggling, which he has refuted. Home Minister Biamlendra Nidhi a few days back told the media not to print fabricated stories but cooperate with the police to trace the smugglers. However, the confiscation of the gold outside the airport suggested that TIA has been a haven for the smugglers. It is not known how much gold and other illegal items had passed the TIA customs manned by the most corrupt employees. Meanwhile, the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority said that 7kg gold is being smuggled from the TIA every day. It said the migrant workers carry the gold for smugglers and every day at least 750 migrant workers fly to Kathmandu every day. A few days after the confiscation of 33 kg gold at TIA, the police also seized gold which smuggled to Nepal from China. Police suspected that the gold was being smuggled to India. Indeed, the open border between India and Nepal and corrupt customs officers of the two countries have been contributing to the smuggling of gold to India from Nepal. Considering the increasing smuggling of Gold via raod in recent years, there has been a demand for regulating the Nepal-India border.