Police raid five stores of ‘Red Bull’ in Valley, four arrested

KATHMANDU, July 21: Police have raided stores of Red Bull, an energy drink, in five different places in the Kathmandu Valley. 

A team of police personnel deployed from the Metropolitan Crime Division raided stores located at New Road, Sina Mangal, Old Baneshwor, Kapan and Gothatar and held  four store operators. 

Those arrested have been identified as Rabin Raj Shrestha (Kathmandu), Raju Poudel (Banke), Dhan Bahadur Shrestha (Okhaldhunga) and Birendra Chaudhary (Sarlahi). 

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Chandra Kuber Khapung, chief of the division, told Ratopati that they seized a total of 4,848 cans of the energy drink. 

The sale and distribution of caffeinated energy drinks have been restricted as per the Nepal Gazette Part-5 published in June, 2019

The Red Bull,however,is widely available across the country. The division said it has been banned and cannot be sold.

According to the police investigation, the arrested accused had been importing such beverages from India and selling them illegally. 

Those arrested will be sent to the Department of Commerce, Supply and Consumer Protection for further investigation and action, SSP Khapung told Ratopati.