Arms peddler arrested with US currency

India security forces arrested an arms peddler with a huge amount of US dollar from the country’s north-eastern state of Mizoram on Friday night.

The arrest comes within 48 hours of seizure of huge cache of US-made arms and ammunitions from five persons, including two Chakmas from Bangladesh, in Mizoram.

Based on a tip off about a large amount of US currency being taken in a jeep for payment of arms consignment, 39 battalion of the Assam Rifles laid a trap along with the Directorate of Revenue in Zanlawn area of Kolasib district on Friday night.

Later in the night, during search of a TATA Sumo (bearing registration number MZ 01 J 6391), security forces found US currency notes amounting to $ 48,700 from the possession of one Khuplianthanga, a resident of Champhai district of Mizoram.

The money was in denominations of 100, 50 and 20 dollar. The seized amount will be more than Rs 30 lakh in Indian currency.

On frisking the apprehended person, a mobile phone was also recovered. Several phone numbers of people from Myanmar were stored in the mobile.

Immediately, he was arrested and during the preliminary questioning, it was revealed that the apprehended person was carrying the money to make payment for the arms consignment in Myanmar.

The incident has yet again proved that Mizoram is being used as corridor for transporting arms and ammunitions and drugs from Myanmar and Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) in Bangladesh inside Indian territory.

Despite an uninterrupted peace in Mizoram since 1986, the state is often used as a conduit for illegal activities by criminals and militants alike.

At an internal security conference of chief ministers in New Delhi on April 16, 2012, Mizoram Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla observed that his state shared ‘porous’ international borders with Myanmar and Bangladesh, and remained prone to a host of illegal activities, such as smuggling of weapons, narcotics and fake Indian currency notes (FICN).

Mizoram shares 722 kilometre-long porous international borders with Bangladesh and Myanmar and free movement regime is allowed along the 404-kilometre Indo-Myanmar border.

This 404 kilometre Indo-Myanmar unfenced border is characterised by inhospitable terrain covered with dense canopy. Hence, the Assam Rifles cannot effectively dominate the Indo-Myanmar border.

Mizoram also shares 284 kilometres (border) with three adjoining militancy-affected Indian states.