BSF, Mizoram Police seize large cache of ammunition, three held

The Border Security Force (BSF) and Mizoram Police in a joint operation seized a large cache of ammunition, explosives and various other items from the state’s Lunglei district, which shares unfenced borders with both Bangladesh and Myanmar, officials said on Sunday. 

Three smugglers, including a woman, were also arrested in connection with the seizure of ammunition and explosives.

A BSF spokesman said that acting on specific intelligence inputs, troops of 92 battalion border guarding force under Mizoram and Cachar Frontiers, in a joint operation with Mizoram Police seized a huge cache of ammunition of various sophisticated arms, explosives and diverse other items from the state’s Lunglei district.

The seized ammunition includes 6,200 rounds of 7.62 mm AK series rifle, 1800 metre cordex, 600 detonators, 20-metre safety fuse and various other equipment from a house in the bordering Lunglei district on Saturday night.

A Mizoram Police official said that senior officials are now interrogating the detainees to know the details of the seizure.

Police suspect that the huge ammunition would be smuggled to the militants either in Myanmar or Bangladesh.

Saturday night’s seizure occurred within around 40 days of the seizure of a large cache of sophisticated arms, ammunition and other items from the same Lunglei district.

On February 12, Mizoram 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.

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. The police personnel also recovered Rs 49,550 in cash, some documents, SIM cards, ATM cards and five mobile phones from the detainees. 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.