The Bhutanese Leading the way.
It has been a year and a half since Sonam Tobgay (43 at the time) was arrested by border guards at the Bhutan-Tibet (China) border on 17th December 2024.
The latest update shared with the Bhutanese government is that Sonam is alive and in detention in Shigatshe.
Family members and even official sources say that Sonam thought he was carrying traditional medicines in a tightly wrapped package given by a first cousin to him to deliver to the border for Nu 15,000.
However, once the package was opened by the Chinese guards it contained 900 grams of heroin or ‘brown-sugar.’
Beyond knowing that he is alive and in detention, the government has not received any other information even though the Royal Bhutanese Embassy in Delhi has communicated the matter with the Chinese Embassy which itself has said it has to get information from China.
The Prime Minister Dasho Tshering Tobgay even raised the matter with the Chinese Ambassador when there was a Cultural Troupe that visited Bhutan in 2025. Bhutan has recently raised the matter when another Chinese delegation had visited a few months ago.
Under Chinese law, anybody smuggling any heroin of 50 grams or more is liable to be sentenced to 15 years imprisonment, life imprisonment or death.
However, what punishment Sonam receives also depends a lot on the context. It is clear from the police investigation that Sonam was unaware of what he was carrying in the tightly wrapped package, and trusted his first cousin’s repeated assurances that it was just traditional medicines.
According to his family, Sonam’s son and father were both sick, and he was unwilling to go, but his first cousin kept insisting he needs to go, and Sonam reluctantly agreed due to the emotional blackmail for a small fee of Nu 15,000. A family member said if it was known that it was actually heroin, Sonam would have never agreed in the first place, but even if someone did smuggle it then the charge would be much more that a Nu 15,000.
The Foreign Minister D.N Dhungyel said that they have shared with Chinese authorities that Sonam Tobgay was apparently not aware of the content of the package.
The government has also been requesting the Chinese government to allow Sonam to stand trial in Bhutan or even be jailed in Bhutan, but there has been no response from the Chinese side.
There is also no coverage of Sonam’s case in the local media in Shigatshe or in the Chinese national media.
Meanwhile, the stress of waiting and not knowing what will happen to Sonam is taking its toll on the family.
Sonam’s mother who is 81 has been trying to petition government leaders, but since October 2025 has developed a heart condition. Sonam’s sister said that her mother’s heart condition is likely due to her constant worry for Sonam who is the youngest among six siblings.
The father who is 87 has still not been told about his son’s arrest as the family fears the shock could kill him, and they have instead told him that he is away in the highlands with the yaks.
Sonam has a daughter and son who are now two years and three years old respectively. The daughter was nine months old and the son was one year and three months old when their father was detained.
Sonam’s wife Passang Bidha (36) said that the family is having a tough time in the absence of the father emotionally, socially and also financially.
She said, “My son is very bright and he still remembers he has a father and asks about him and clings to his father’s clothes and shoes.” The mother and the family have also hidden the truth from the son and told him that his father is in the highlands with the yaks.
In his absence, Passang has been trying to run a shop but since it is in a rural area the daily sales are only around Nu 500 and she said the snacks she sells are eaten more by her children than sold.
Her older sister who is a forester has been helping with the basic expenses of food and running the house despite the sister having her own two children.
Her husband’s sister who has been following up Sonam’s case and is a teacher has been helping with the clothes for the children and some other expenses for them.
Sonam Tobgay in happier times with his family
Before his arrest, Sonam had taken a loan and built a two-storied traditional house which is generating some rent but this is primarily used in repaying the loan. The family themselves stay in a buckle house.
When Sonam was around, he would take care of the around 80 heads of yaks in the highland owned by the family and from there sell the butter, cheese and chogo and earn money for the family apart from some minor trading.
However, now without Sonam around, the wife has to be with the children and the yaks are in the care of a helper who does not know how to milk the yaks or do the other tasks to make a living from them.
Passang said that in the absence of Sonam they are barely able to make ends meet.
She said the main culprit in all of this is Sonam’s first cousin who had pressurized and convinced Sonam to deliver the tightly wrapped package. She said that the first cousin is a very well-off businessman, and he has still not paid the Nu 15,000 promised to Sonam.
She said she called him asking for help to release her husband and also to pay for the economic income lost from the yaks in the absence of Sonam, but she said he has blocked her number.
The police detained the first cousin and six others for a couple of months, but they are out on bail and the police investigation is also stuck without the drug consignment in Bhutan or any information on it.
The wife requested the government to bring back her husband, and she said that even if her husband cannot be brought back, the first cousin should be legally charged for putting them in this position in the first place.
In a rural setting Passang not only has to look after her two kids but she has to go for Woola and also attend Zomdu meetings which she can be fined for missing.
Sonam’s sister said the first cousin is who got Sonam into trouble in the first place and he is not even coming around with them to get help to release Sonam.
She also said that the government should seek confirmation from the Chinese government that Sonam was made to carry drugs, and then based on that the first cousin should be charged.
Though the police investigation showed that nine people were involved in the case, the sister said that as far as they are concerned, the first cousin should be legally charged in the case as he was the one who pressured Sonam to take the package saying it was ‘traditional medicines.’
On the fate that awaits Sonam, no one can really say but looking at the above circumstances, it is clear that Sonam had no idea what he was carrying, he was duped by his first cousin who assured him it was traditional medicine, was promised a small fee of Nu 15,000 and Sonam has no criminal record.
While Chinese courts are tough on drug smugglers, they also look at mitigating circumstances and it is clear that there are many mitigating circumstances in Sonam’s case.
Added to this is the Bhutanese government at the highest levels taking up this case repeatedly, and so a death sentence for Sonam would definitely impact sentiments and ties as this would be the first Bhutanese in history to be executed abroad. There is, therefore, some hope that given the facts of the case and the circumstances, the Chinese courts could opt for the lower end of sentencing which is 15 years to life imprisonment.
