Sanjeeb Phuyal is the Nepali Editor of Newschecker based in Kathmandu, Nepal. He brings over a decade of experience writing and editing news. In his previous stint, he worked as online editor for The Kathmandu Post. With the growth of social media platforms—and the ever-growing competition amongst media outlets to churn out breaking news, he feels that fact-checking every piece of information has become essential today than ever before.
Claim
Nepali couple deported after being caught with undeclared jewellery at US customs.
Fact
No, viral video is made for educational purpose by Totaram Jewelers.
A video allegedly showing Nepali couple being caught at US Customs with undeclared jewellery is going viral on TikTok.
TikTok user @spandan.binod_official posted a video showing US customs police examining the belongings of a couple. Text superimposed on the video reads, “Nepali people who reached the United States of America carrying a bag full of gold were deported. First they said they only had clothes in their bags and later the US officers didn’t return the gold after they found it.” The video shows the customs officers questioning the alleged Nepali couple while checking their belongings. The officers find the couple carrying undeclared jewellery. Then the officer says the couple tried to bring the jewellery without paying the tax to the US government.
The video posted on February 7 has garnered 18.5k likes, 3157 users have shared it and 493 users have commented on it. The archived version of the TikTok video can be seen here.
Newschecker found the claim to be misleading.
Fact Check /Verification
To check the authenticity of the claim made in the viral video, Newschecker conducted a search by using relevant keywords such as ‘couple caught for failing to declare’ which led us to a video, dated Jan 17, 2024, posted on the YouTube channel named Vijendra Prasad. On checking the video, we found that the video from 0.12-minute onwards exactly matched the viral video. However, the text on the video screen noted that an Indian couple was caught smuggling gold worth 15k US dollars.
Further, we found another video, dated February 20, 2024, published on the YouTube channel named Totaram Jewelers Online. The video shows a section of the clip from the viral clip in which the US Customs officer says, “Now we are going to seize these jewellery for failure to declare.” On checking the full video and its descriptions, we found that the video was made for educational purpose by Totaram Jewelers on the increasing scrutiny by the US Customs on undeclared jewellery from India. We also found the same informative video on the Instagram page Totaram Jewelers.
Thus, our findings indicated that the viral clip showed an educational video by Totaram Jewelers on the implications of not declaring jewellery and other valuables while travelling between India and US.
Conclusion
The viral video claiming that a Nepali couple caught with undeclared jewellery at US customs were deported is misleading. The viral video actually shows an education video made by Totaram Jewelry.
Result: False
Sources
Vijendra Prasad /YouTube , January 16, 2024
Totaram Jewelers Online/India Gold Jewlery/YouTube, Feb 20, 2024
Totaram Jewelers /Instagram,
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Sanjeeb Phuyal is the Nepali Editor of Newschecker based in Kathmandu, Nepal. He brings over a decade of experience writing and editing news. In his previous stint, he worked as online editor for The Kathmandu Post. With the growth of social media platforms—and the ever-growing competition amongst media outlets to churn out breaking news, he feels that fact-checking every piece of information has become essential today than ever before.
