Aizawl, Feb 12
Mizoram Police seized a large cache of sophisticated arms, ammunition and other items from the state’s Lunglei district, which shares a border with unfenced Bangladesh, officials said.
Three persons – two residents of Mizoram, and one inhabitant of neighbouring Tripura, who were carrying the arms and ammunition in the car, were also arrested. They belong to the Chakma community.
An official said that acting on a tip-off, police intercepted a car at Lunglei Bazar in southern Mizoram and recovered two AK-47 rifles, five US-made M4 carbines, 20 magazines, 504 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition, and 4,675 rounds of 5.56mm ammunition.
The police personnel also recovered Rs 49,550 in cash, some documents, SIM cards, ATM cards and five mobile phones. The arms-laden car was coming from Thenzawl in central Mizoram’s Serchhip district, which shares a border with Champhai district, a hotspot for smuggling of drugs, arms, ammunition and other contraband from Myanmar.
“We are interrogating the arms peddlers but yet to ascertain the final destination of the arms,” the official said.
The arrested persons have been identified as Roni Chakma, 45, (Tripura), Anirban Chakma, (34) (Lawngtlai district, Mizoram) and Ribeng, 24, (Lunglei district, Mizoram).
Intelligence officials suggested that arms smuggling activities in Mizoram amidst the ongoing conflicts in Myanmar and after the unrest began in Bangladesh in July, especially after the fall of the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government on August 5.
Meanwhile, on January 15, Mizoram police seized a large cache of arms and ammunition from Saithah village in bordering Mamit District, which also shares an unfenced border with Bangladesh. The arms and ammunition seized include six AK-47 rifles, 10,050 cartridges of AK-47 rifles and 13 Magazines.
A Police official had said that these arms and ammunition were intended to be supplied by an insurgent outfit based in Myanmar to the rebel group in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of southeast Bangladesh.
The official had said that in connection with the arms seizure, five accused have been arrested. Among those detained is a top leader of the Chin National Front (CNF), an insurgent group based in Myanmar.
The official said that the confiscated arms and ammunition were intended for trade between the CNF from Myanmar, a prominent rebel organisation and the United People's Democratic Front (UPDF-P), another insurgent group active in the CHT.