Gordon William Robinson should not be a free man. Two years ago, he was caught red-handed at Kathmandu airport with 2.3kg of heroin hidden in his shoe and luggage. A special court fined the notorious British drug trafficker Rs 1.7 million and sentenced him to 17 years in prison after he confessed to smuggling the drug from Mumbai to Nepal through the Sunauli border.

But on 23 April 2003, the Supreme Court acquitted Robinson on grounds of insufficient evidence. Robinson left Nepal immediately thereafter.

This controversial release of a known narco-trafficker has once again put Nepal under close scrutiny of international drug enforcement agencies. In the months since Robinson was released, there have been many enquires from Interpol and other agencies at the Narcotic Drug Control Law Enforcement Unit in Baneswor. They all want to know why Robinson was released and how he was allowed to slip out of the country. Interpol was convinced the evidence was irrefutable and sufficient.

Robinson was acquitted by Supreme Court justices Krishna Kumar Barma and Baliram Kumar after an appeal was filed. The Nepal Bar Assocation and several prominent lawyers have protested the verdict and have filed for a retrial at the Supreme Court. Attorney General Sushil Pant Thursday filed an application at the Supreme Court for a review of the case. It is now up to the Supreme Court to decide whether such a review is necessary.

Supreme Court spokesperson Ram Krishna Timilsina told us it should be kept out of the matter. "We should look for alternatives like the jurisdiction of the Chief Justice or the Judicial Council," he says. Even the royal palace has taken the unusual step of asking the Supreme Court for details of the verdict.

Justices Barma and Kumar are both on leave and not available for comment. When Robinson was acquitted, the justices said that investigators had not followed procedures properly.

At the drug control unit, Senior Superintendent of Police Hemant Malla, admits that at times there are procedural errors in such cases. "But that does not mean the criminals should be set free," says Malla, an expert on narcotic crimes.

Other sources who declined to be named say the Robinson acquittal has all the hallmarks of corruption and an active drug mafia. Even if Robinson is caught again, it is unlikely that he will be returned to Nepal to stand trial because of the lack of extradition laws. As for now, the police authorities would be happy if there is just a clear verdict that he is guilty. Robinson's release not only humiliated the police authorities and the Home Ministry in front of Interpol, but also demoralised the investigative anti-narcotic personnel.

This is a psychological blow to Nepal's narco cops who are battling the insidious presence of international drug syndicates that use Nepal as a transhipment point because of its lax security, open border with India and corrupt officialdom.

Robinson was not the first international drug trafficker to squirm his way out of jail here. In 1998, Dutchman Phillippus Geesken Eef was arrested with more than 200kg of heroin, but his sentence was reduced to two years. According to court documents, Eef's associates in Nepal were his Nepali wife and 10 other Nepalis, including airline ground staff and hotel personnel. Local contacts helped him store the drugs in safehouses and a carpet factory in the Valley, and the airport and hotel staff helped in packing and facilitating air cargo shipment of drugs.

According to Nepal law, the penalty for those caught with over 100g of heroin is 15-20 years of imprisonment including a fine of up to Rs 2.5 million. Those with over 10kg of hashish face a maximum of 10 years in prison with a Rs 100,000 fine. "Most of the time, smugglers with powerful connections and money are in prison for shorter periods, if at all," a police officer told us.

The only foreigners serving longterm sentences in Nepal's Central Jail are those without international drug syndicate connections. In the last 12 years, about 105 foreign nationals from Romania, France, Germany, Russia, Israel, Poland, Burma, Nigeria, Austria, China, India, Japan, Turkey, Afghanistan, Sweden, the Czech Republic, the UK, Malawi and Canada were arrested. The most notorious among them are already free or serving light sentences. As of now, only 58 are languishing at different jails in the Valley.

Nepal may not be as important a hub for drug traffickers as Indonesia, Thailand, India, Pakistan or Burma, but it is an up-and-coming conduit. Anti-narcotics agents say Nepal is still primarily a channel for drug flow out of India, Pakistan and Burma to Southeast Asia.

But Nepal is also the source for high grade Nepali hashish which is reportedly in great demand in Europe. Hashish was legal here until the Nepal government was forced by the United States to pass the Narcotic Drugs (Control) Act of 1976. The law just deprived poor farmers of a cash crop, and drove the trade into the hands of the drug mafia.

Most foreigners caught at Kathmandu airport carry only hashish, and not hard drugs. Last year, 54kg of hashish was seized at Kathmandu airport alone. So far this year, more than 51kg has already been caught. The amount and frequency of seizures has risen every year, but experts say this does not necessarily mean smuggling is on the rise. They say it could just mean that police are getting better at their job.

Established in 1992, the Narcotic Drug Control Law Enforcement Unit has a force of 75 agents working in major cities. Although it has a good intelligence team, the unit is handicapped by a lack of communications and surveillance equipment. There is also a need for more training in investigative and surveillance techniques. Another problem is that experienced agents are often transferred from the unit to other departments where their skills are of no use.