Biratnagar- The Biratnagar High Court has delivered its final verdict in the high-profile 33 kg gold smuggling and Sanam Shakya murder case, upholding life imprisonment for the main accused while reducing prison terms for three other defendants.
A division bench of Justices Mahendra Upadhyay and Prakash Chandra Adhikari issued the ruling on Monday, January 29, 2026 (Magh 16, 2082), bringing an end to prolonged appellate proceedings. The court maintained the life sentence of Chudamani Upreti, widely known as ‘Gore’, identified as the mastermind behind the gold smuggling network and the murder of Sanam Shakya.
According to Biratnagar High Court Information Officer Santosh Pokharel, the bench partially overturned the Morang District Court’s 2021 verdict concerning Narendra Karki, Mohan Kafle, and Bhojraj Bhandari. Their earlier life sentences were reduced to 10 years of imprisonment. However, the High Court upheld the life sentences of Lakpa Sherpa and Bhabin Tamang, fully endorsing the district court’s findings against them.
The case dates back to early 2018, when 33.5 kilograms of gold smuggled from the United Arab Emirates through Tribhuvan International Airport went missing. The subsequent investigation into the disappearance of the gold led to the abduction, torture, and murder of Sanam Shakya, a gold carrier from Urlabari, Morang.
Further investigations exposed a vast criminal network allegedly involved in smuggling around 3,800 kilograms of gold into Nepal over a five-year period, making it one of the largest organized crime cases in the country’s history.
The High Court also upheld the acquittal of several senior police officials who had been accused in connection with the case. The Morang District Court had earlier cleared them due to insufficient evidence, and that decision remains unchanged.
Despite years of investigation, prosecution, and judicial proceedings, the original 33.5 kilograms of smuggled gold has yet to be recovered, leaving a critical question unanswered in one of Nepal’s most infamous criminal cases.
