The fate of seven Nepali youths who went missing in a boat accident in the Caribbean Sea nearly five years ago while traveling illegally to America (United States) remains unknown. Since no agency conducted a search, the families have even performed final rites by creating effigies out of kush (halfa grass). Although the individual responsible for sending them was charged with human trafficking, he has been repeatedly arrested and released. It has been discovered that he continued to send people to America illegally even after that fatal accident.

It has been nearly five years since seven Nepali youths went missing after their boat capsized in the Caribbean Sea while en route to America. Those missing include three individuals from Dang (including one originally from Banke living in Tulsipur, Dang), two from Parbat, one from Syangja, and another whose name and address are unknown.

A boat carrying eight Nepalis and 10 Bangladeshis sank on the night of June 21, 2021, after being caught in a storm while traveling from Necoclí to Capurganá, Colombia. Although five Bangladeshis and one Nepali were rescued, the others disappeared. The families have not yet received any official information regarding the missing individuals. No information is available from either domestic or foreign agencies.

Among those missing, three were from Dang and were being taken to America by Top Bahadur GC, a 45-year-old agent from the same district who has already been jailed and released twice for human trafficking offenses. No agencies have investigated the agents responsible for the other youths, nor have any formal complaints been filed against them.

Jit Bahadur, the uncle of Resham Dhenga Magar (26) from Babai Rural Municipality-5, Hapure, Dang, stated that Resham is among those missing after the accident while en route to America. According to him, Top Bahadur kept Resham traveling through various countries for nearly two years under the pretext of taking him to America, with Resham spending a year and a half in Ukraine.

“The agent did not move him until the money was paid. I sent Top Bahadur 450,000 rupees ( US$ 3014) just the day before. The very next day, news came that the accident had occurred,” Jit Bahadur said. “To this day, there is no trace of Resham. No government agency has even asked us about his status yet.”

Jit Bahadur added that he had managed to arrange and pay 2.85 million rupees ( US$ 19092) to Top Bahadur before Resham met with the accident. “Resham told me he would earn and pay it back, asking me to find the money because he needed to go abroad, so I worked on securing the funds for him,” he said.

Meanwhile, the family of 43-year-old Hemraj Adhikari, originally from Khajura Rural Municipality-2, Ke Gaun, Banke, but residing in Tulsipur, Dang, has already performed his final rites using a kush effigy. Hemraj’s brother, Tara, explained that after inquiring through acquaintances at the Nepali Embassy and receiving news that everyone except those found injured had died, they decided to proceed with the cremation. “We received news that he had died but since the body was never found, we made an effigy of kush and cremated it at Kiran Khola,” Tara said. “Our father and sister-in-law observed the 13-day mourning period, while the rest of us performed shorter rites.” It was Top Bahadur himself who first broke the unconfirmed news of the accident to Hemraj’s wife, Chhaya Bhusal.

There is also no trace of 21-year-old Angel Budha Magar from Dang, who went missing in the same boat accident. Angel’s family members have been demanding that Top Bahadur and members of similar gangs who send people to America through such risky routes be arrested and prosecuted.

“We informed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Human Trafficking Investigation Bureau, but we still do not know what happened to my nephew (Angel),” said Angel’s uncle, Purna Bahadur. “Now his father has started saying that despite trying everything, nothing worked and his son won’t be coming back anyway, so we should just let it go. But I still say that the gang that caused this kind of loss to a family must be held accountable.”

Angel’s other uncle, Janak, received news of the accident on June 24, 2021. He said he found out after another young man from Dang, who had reached Mexico on his way to America, called and mentioned that Spanish news was reporting an accident involving the boat the boys were on.

Following the accident, Janak called the Bangladeshis undergoing treatment at a hospital in Panama on June 27, 2021, to inquire. Although they confirmed the accident, they could not provide any specific information regarding the status of Angel or the others.

When Janak first asked Top Bahadur about the incident on June 24, Top Bahadur denied that Angel was involved. Top Bahadur sent a WhatsApp message to Janak saying, “Brother, I’m not sure if this is a Nepali or not. It’s not our guy. It seems he belongs to Narayan. I have sent the information to Narayan. He is sleeping now. I will call you tomorrow morning. As far as I can tell, it’s not a Nepali.” While it is understood that Narayan is another agent involved in sending people to America, no further details about him were found.

he father of a young man from Parbat who went missing in the same accident stated that he would not speak on the matter at all. He said, “I have already said enough. Please do not call me regarding this issue.” No record of a complaint has been found against the agent who sent that young man to America either.

Indifference in the search effort

Government agencies have shown little interest in investigating not only the missing youths but also the agents who sent them. When contacting the Department of Consular Services under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Nepal Police Human Trafficking Investigation Bureau, no updated information regarding their status was found.

On August 15, 2025, the Nepal Investigative Multimedia Journalism Network (NIMJN) requested information from the Department of Consular Services regarding the steps taken for the search and rescue of the missing Nepalis.

In response, the department stated that it has no updated information on their condition. “Apart from what has appeared in the media, the Department of Consular Services has no official information, and no one has filed an application for search and rescue,” said Lekhnath Gautam, the department’s then-spokesperson. “We will send this letter (NIMJN’s request for information) to the Nepali Embassy overseeing the country where the accident occurred to gather information.”

The department subsequently forwarded NIMJN’s letter to the Nepali Embassy in Brazil. In a response sent to NIMJN through the Department of Consular Services on August 20, 2025, the Nepali Embassy in Brazil stated that there was no further information beyond the reports that appeared in the media at the time of the accident.

“As mentioned by the correspondent requesting information, reports are received from various sources that Nepalis traveling to America via illegal routes face various types of problems along the way,” the Nepali Embassy in Brazil stated. “After receiving news that Nepalis lost their lives in the tragic boat accident in the maritime area near Colombia on June 21, this embassy attempted to obtain information through the relevant countries. Despite prolonged efforts, no official information has been obtained from any source.”

NIMJN again requested updated information regarding the missing persons from the Department of Consular Services on March 31, 2026. However, the department stated that while they had contacted the relevant embassy for updates, no further information had been received from them.

According to the Nepal Police Human Trafficking Investigation Bureau, Prakash BK from Myagdi, who was rescued in an injured state following the accident, has since reached the United States. The Bureau had also sent a letter to the Interpol Section in Naxal on July 12, 2021, to assist in the search for the others. No updated information has been received regarding that request to date.

“They remain missing. There has been no news whatsoever until now,” said Bureau Chief and Senior Superintendent of Police, Krishna Prasad Pageni.

According to information provided by the Police Inspection Office in the District of Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, men, women and children from various parts of Nepal and Bangladesh had boarded this boat to enter the United States via the Darien coast. However, the boat split into two pieces and capsized after being struck by massive ocean waves.

“Many people lost their lives in this accident. Much information remains unknown,” states a Spanish-language letter received by NIMJN, signed by Police Inspector Irene Barrios Paz. “Only limited information is known from the accounts provided by survivors through translators and the statements of local fishermen.”

Frustrated by the lack of information regarding Angel, who was involved in that same shipwreck, his uncle Purna Bahadur filed a complaint with the Human Trafficking Investigation Bureau on July 12, 2021. “Despite so much effort, nothing has been discovered about my nephew,” Purna Bahadur said. “We informed the Human Trafficking Investigation Bureau and even filed a human trafficking case against Top Bahadur but nothing came of it.”

Top Bahadur still has not stopped sending people to America

It has been discovered that Top Bahadur continued his illegal human smuggling operations even after the youths he was sending to America were involved in the boat accident. Although he was acquitted by the Kathmandu District Court in a human trafficking case filed by Angel’s family on August 8, 2021, Top Bahadur subsequently sent members of the very families affected by that accident to America.

Hemraj’s wife, Chhaya, whose husband went missing in the accident, had previously mentioned that Top Bahadur reassured her by saying, “What happened has happened. Don’t dwell on other things,” and promised to send her to America. Family members confirmed that Chhaya reached America through Top Bahadur a year and a half ago. NIMJN has been unable to speak with Chhaya directly, as the mobile number she provided three years ago is no longer in service.

Hemraj’s family stated that Top Bahadur also sent Chhaya’s brother-in-law, Govinda Adhikari, to America via illegal routes.

Similarly, he sent the son of Resham Dhenga Magar’s uncle to America using the same illegal methods. Resham’s uncle, Jit Bahadur, stated that Top Bahadur took 6.25 million rupees ( US$ 41870)to send his son to America.

Who is Top Bahadur, the person sending people to America?

Forty-five-year-old Top Bahadur GC, a resident of Milantole, Ghorahi Sub-metropolitan City-14 in Dang, initially worked at the printing press of the Gantabya Daily published in Dang.

He was also a general member of the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) Dang from 2013 to 2019. In the Communication Diary published by the FNJ Dang branch in April 2014, his name, photograph, newspaper affiliation, mobile number and email are listed.

While working in the media, he became associated with Uttar Kumar Oli, the then-Lumbini Provincial Assembly member elected from the UML for Dang constituency No. 3 (B), who also acted as an agent sending youths abroad.

Uttar Oli passed away on February 22, 2019, following a serious car accident on February 7. Those who know Top Bahadur and the relatives of the victims state that after Oli’s death, Top Bahadur himself began sending youths to America through illegal and dangerous routes. Top Bahadur had also contested the 2017 local elections as a UML candidate for ward member of Ghorahi Sub-metropolitan City-14 but was defeated.

UML Dang Vice Chairman Manohar Budhathoki stated that although Top Bahadur was previously a party member, he has not been in contact since his legal cases began and his current whereabouts are unknown. “He did not renew his membership while the case was ongoing, and he is no longer in our member records,” Budhathoki said. “Previously, people in Dang would come forward saying they had been cheated or were planning to leave but they don’t come anymore.”

The first human trafficking and transportation case against Top Bahadur, then-Provincial Assembly member Uttar Oli, and Mukunda Raj GC of Dang was filed in the Kathmandu District Court on June 17, 2019. Top Bahadur, who had been arrested on April 19, 2019, was released on June 19, 2019, after posting a bail of 1.5 million rupees ( US$ 10048).

On January 3, 2021, the bench of Judge Badri Prasad Oli at the Kathmandu District Court found him guilty, sentencing Top Bahadur to two years in prison and a fine of 1.2 million rupees ( US$ 8039). According to the first case, the three individuals had taken 7.597 million rupees ( US$ 50894) from a young man by promising him a monthly salary of 5,000 US dollars and a Green Card in America.

On April 10, 2017, they took the youth from Nepalgunj to Delhi by bus and kept him there for four months. While repeatedly demanding more money, they sent him from Delhi through Russia, Spain, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico before finally reaching America. Immediately upon entering the U.S., he was arrested by American police and imprisoned for 17 months. After returning to Nepal from the U.S. prison, the young man filed a case against Top Bahadur and two others on June 17, 2019.

The bench of Judge Shankar Raj Baral of the Kathmandu District Court acquitted him, ruling that the defendant’s involvement in causing the accident was not evident, and there was no confirmation that the youth had been trafficked or cheated.

Top Bahadur had testified that he borrowed 30 million rupees ( US$ 20097 )from Angel’s family members to show a bank balance for sending his daughter to America, claiming he later returned the amount. Angel’s family, however, had paid 3.2 million rupees ( US$ 21437)to Top Bahadur and Goma through both cash and bank transfers.

“I did not have the complainant send 1.998 million rupees ( US$ 13385) to my wife’s account by promising to send his nephew to America. That amount was sent to my wife Goma GC’s account because the complainant was asked to help show a 4 million rupee ( US$ 26797) bank balance for my daughter to go study in America, and for no other reason,” Top Bahadur stated in his court testimony. “I have not committed human trafficking or fraud by promising to send the complainant’s nephew to America.”

Following the filing of a complaint against Top Bahadur, an Interpol Fugitive Wanted notice was issued on August 4, 2021. According to letter No. 81 dated August 5, 2021 from the Police Headquarters Interpol Branch, he was blacklisted and barred from traveling through Tribhuvan International Airport. This restriction was lifted after he appeared in court.

Top Bahadur, who has faced human trafficking charges twice, was arrested by the District Police Office, Dang, from Vingreli Village Resort in Ghorahi on May 10, 2023, in a check bounce case under banking offenses. He was later released without a formal case after paying the check amount.

On January 20, 2026, NIMJN sent an email to Top Bahadur seeking his response regarding the cases and allegations against him, the status of the three youths still missing after the accident during the journey to America, his affiliations with the media and political parties, and reports of him sending more youths to America. However, he has not provided any reply to date. His Nepali phone number is also unreachable.

According to the latest details obtained by NIMJN, Top Bahadur appears to have obtained a labor permit from Nepal to work as a sales manager at a company called Prime Destination Tourism LLC in the UAE. Records from the Department of Foreign Employment show that he obtained a two-year labor permit on August 25, 2023. The records indicate that the term of his term life insurance extends until February 22, 2026.

Produced in collaboration with journalist Daniela Castro of OCCRP in Colombia. Please adhere to our republishing policy if you'd like to republish this story. You can find the guidelines here.