Kathmandu, Aug. 2 -- Investigators have unraveled a series of security lapses, double-dealings and corruption intent on the part of law enforcement officers in the recent gold smuggling case in the Capital.

Tuesday's incident, in which police said it had recovered 15 kg gold only to later backtrack and say that only 500 gram of the recovered metal was gold and the rest gold-plated silver bars, is under investigation by a committee formed by the Metropolitan Police Office, Ranipokhari.

The committee's investigation is already turning into a damning indictment of police-criminal nexus, with three officers, including a deputy superintendent of police, being treated as suspects for allegedly letting off the smugglers, deliberately misinform...