A total of 401 foreign criminals are put in jail in Nepal, a leading website, eKantipur. com reported on Sunday.

According to prison records, the number of foreign criminals has been increasing constantly in recent years, the report said, adding that the number was increased from 365 to 401.

Among the 401 foreign inmates in Nepal's 21 prisons, 40 are serving sentences for murder, 105 for drug trafficking, and others for various offenses including fraud, possession of duplicate passports, women trafficking, rape, possession of fake currency notes and theft, according to police records.

Indian nationals constitute the largest number of foreign inmates in jails. There are 310 Indian jail inmates in Nepal, followed by 46 Bhutanese nationals.

The number of drug traffickers from foreign countries, who constitute the largest chunk of such jail inmates, has been rising steadily in the past 15 years, according to the Narcotic Drug Control Law Enforcement Unit (NDCLEU).

In 2005, 23 foreign drug traffickers were arrested, and 34 in 2006. Ever since 1995, the number of drug traffickers arrested in the country has constantly risen.

Source: Xinhua