Aizawl: In one of the largest arms recoveries in Mizoram, state police officials on Wednesday seized huge cache of weapons at the outskirts of Saithah village in Mamit district bordering Bangladesh, a senior police official said.
The official said a joint operation was launched in partnership with a sister intelligence agency. Six AK-47 assault rifles, 13 magazines and 10,050 rounds of live ammunitions of the Kalashnikov rifle were seized.
Five accused, including a prominent leader of the Chin National Front (CNF)/Chin National Army (CNA), have been arrested, the official said. "The arrest of such a high-profile individual is a significant achievement in counter-insurgency operations in the state of Mizoram," he added.
The 26-year-old CNF/CNA is an insurgent group based in Myanmar and one of the most prominent ethnic armed organisations (EAOs) in the neighbouring country and at present fighting against the military junta.
Police did not reveal the name of the leader and the leadership of the Chin EAO told TOI that they did not have any information about the arrest of one of their leaders. According to the police, a preliminary probe reveals that the confiscated arms and ammunition were intended for trade between the CNF/CNA from Chin state of Myanmar and the United People's Democratic Front (UPDFP), a Chakma insurgent group active in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh.
The UPDFP is a splinter group of the Shanti Bahini or ‘peace force', (armed wing of the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti or United People's Party of the Chittagong Hill Tracts), a Chakma insurgent group fighting for autonomy from Bangladesh since 1972 that signed an agreement with the govt in 1997.