Overview
- Police say a network spanning guides, helicopter companies and hospitals ran from 2022 to 2025 and hit about 4,800 to 5,000 foreign trekkers.
- Investigators report guides exaggerated altitude sickness or triggered look‑alike symptoms by mis‑dosing medicines or adding substances like yeast to food.
- The goal was to force airlifts, then bill insurers using fake flight logs and medical notes, with one hospital charging nearly $12,000 and paying cuts to guides and pilots.
- Officers reviewed about 300 helicopter rescues and linked 171 calls to complicit guides, while reports cite 11 arrests and 32 people under formal investigation.
- Il Post notes authorities have not proven widespread poisoning and puts the fraud at roughly €6.4 million, as other outlets report about $20 million and focus on Everest and related routes.