Kathmandu, Oct. 10 -- Police have arrested businessman Nabin Raj Basnet in connection with a red sandalwood smuggling case dating back 13 years.

A team from the Central Investigation Bureau took Basnet into custody from his residence in Bhaktapur on Friday evening, bureau chief AIG Uma Chaturvedi confirmed to Kantipur.

The case had remained pending because investigators could not establish the address of the accused, Chaturvedi said. The court recently approached the bureau after his whereabouts became known, prompting the issuance of an arrest warrant.

"The case had been pending on the grounds that the defendant's address was unknown at the time," Chaturvedi said. "The court recently submitted a request after his address was establish...