Have Mount Everest guides been drugging mountain climbers as part of a massive insurance-fraud scam? It’s looking that way. The Independent reports that some guides have been accused of doing this between 2022 and 2025, and arrests have already been made.
Videos by Outdoors
[RELATED: Viral Video: Everest Climber Struggles to Breathe After 4 Days in ‘Death Zone’]
“Mount Everest guides have been accused of secretly drugging foreign climbers to trigger expensive aerial evacuations as part of a $20m (£15m) insurance fraud scheme, according to an investigation by the Nepali police,” wrote The Independent.
A police spokesperson told The Independent that officials have charged 32 people and made 11 arrests so far. “The scale of the scam appears to be vast, affecting 4,782 international climbers between 2022 and 2025,” the outlet reports.
Learn more about this developing case here.
Header stock image by David Keaton/Getty Images
