Nepal’s tourism sector has welcomed police action after six arrests were made in a fake mountain rescue scam. The arrests came after a nearly three-month investigation by Nepal Police’s Central Investigation Bureau into a scheme where travel and rescue companies staged helicopter evacuations to claim insurance money from foreign companies. The suspects are accused of forging documents such as passenger lists and inflating medical bills to file false claims. The arrested individuals held top roles in three local travel and rescue firms. Raj Gyawali, founder of Socialtours travel company, said, “We’re taking the right step by arresting those involved in wrongdoings.” He added, “It’s common knowledge in the industry that such scams are prevalent, but we haven’t been able to do much without any proof. So, the cleaning up of our industry is very much required.” Nepal, famous for eight of the world’s tallest peaks, sees hundreds of trekkers rescued yearly due to weather and health emergencies. This crackdown aims to protect both the tourism industry and insurance companies from ongoing fraud.