3-cameroonian-footballers-held-near-nepal-border-in-darjeeling

Three Cameroonian nationals, all professional footballers, were arrested by the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) on Tuesday near the India-Nepal border in Darjeeling district while allegedly attempting an illegal crossing into Nepal.

 

The early-morning operation was carried out on Monday near Lohagarh-Manjha, close to the Mechi River, which marks the international border. Acting on a tip-off, jawans from the SSB’s 8th Battalion intercepted the trio navigating a forested trail just 500 metres from the Nepal border, adjacent to Lohagarh Tea Garden.

 

The arrested individuals were identified as Tijol Ivan, Soemoho Claude Idris, and Bonha Niam Sloven. The broker escorting them reportedly managed to flee and remains at large. The trio were later handed over to Panighata Police Station and produced before the Mirik Subdivision Court on Tuesday.

 

“They had been illegally staying in India and continued playing for various local football clubs,” said Enamul Haque, Officer-in-Charge at Panighata Police Station. “We are now investigating how they arrived in Lohagarh and who facilitated their escape plan to Nepal.”

Also read: US couple held while trying to cross Nepal border in Bihar

 

According to SSB officials, the three men had entered India legally on tourist visas but had overstayed their permits. Ivan’s visa expired on 21 July 2024, Sloven’s on 7 November 2023, and Idris’s on 18 April 2025.

 

Investigations revealed the men had been participating in local football tournaments across Siliguri and other parts of West Bengal. “They were professional footballers active in the local circuit, but they had no legal right to remain in the country,” an SSB official said.

 

This is not the first such incident in the region. In February 2024, the SSB had apprehended a Senegalese footballer along with a broker from Bihar in Laljijo, Naxalbari, attempting a similar illegal crossing into Nepal.

 

Police have now launched a search operation to trace the absconding broker and are probing the broader network enabling such illegal movements across the porous border.