Aizawl, March 7 – A joint team of the Assam Rifles and Police has arrested a Myanmar national and seized 19 air rifles along with 75,000 pellets during an operation in the southern Mizoram district of Siaha, officials said on Saturday.
An official said that the Myanmar national was apprehended after security forces seized a large cache of air rifles and ammunition during a vehicle check in the Siaha district, which shares an unfenced border with Myanmar.
According to the official, the operation was carried out following specific intelligence inputs. A Mobile Vehicle Check Post (MVCP) was jointly established by the Assam Rifles and personnel of the Mizoram Police at the Lungbun Police outpost in the Niawhtlang area.
The joint team intercepted a Tata Yodha driven by a Myanmar national.
During a thorough search of the vehicle, security personnel recovered 19 air rifles, including 18 NX200 (4.5mm) and one PX100 (4.5mm), along with 75,000 pellets, contained in 150 boxes of Excite brand. Other items seized include a telescope for an air rifle, a nitro piston, a spring for an air rifle, and a Redmi 15C mobile phone.
The driver was identified as Khar Lian (36), a resident of Matupi in neighbouring Myanmar.
He was immediately taken into custody. The apprehended individual and the seized items have been handed over to the Siaha Police Station for further investigation and legal action.
Mizoram shares a 510-km-long unfenced international border with Myanmar and a 318-km-long porous mountainous border with Bangladesh, making the mountainous state particularly vulnerable to cross-border smuggling and illegal movements.
Myanmar's Chin State is considered a major hub for the smuggling of various narcotics, arms and ammunition, exotic wildlife, foreign-made cigarettes, Myanmar areca nuts (betel nuts), and other contraband through six districts of Mizoram – Champhai, Siaha, Lawngtlai, Hnahthial, Saitual, and Serchhip.