Huge cache of explosives found near Myanmar border in Mizoram, probe on

Acting on a tip-off, two locations near Lawngtlai town were raided and the seizure was made, it said. In all, 139 gelatin sticks, 149 detonators and 43 metres of cordex were seized in the joint operation by Assam Rifles and state police, it added.

Aizawl: A huge cache of explosives was seized near the Myanmar border in southern Mizoram, the Assam Rifles said on Thursday. Acting on a tip-off, two locations near Lawngtlai town were raided and the seizure was made, it said. In all, 139 gelatin sticks, 149 detonators and 43 metres of cordex were seized in the joint operation by Assam Rifles and state police, it added. Two persons were arrested in connection with the seizures made on Wednesday, it said.

The two accused along with the explosives and warlike stores were handed over to the state police for further investigation, the Assam Rifles said. A huge cache of weapons and warlike stores were found near Kelsih village in Aizawl district on Sunday. Three pump-action shotguns, five .22 rifles, seven telescope sights, 20 boxes of air pellets, 3,000 kg of explosives, 2,000 metres of safety fuse and 100 kilograms of gunpowder were seized that day from two vehicles. Four people were arrested.

Police said sustained interrogation of the four accused led to the recovery of another 103 boxes of gelatin (each containing 200 sticks) from a godown in Aizawl on Monday. The godown belonged to one of the four accused. The investigation is still underway and any Myanmar link is yet to be found, police said. Many weapons and warlike stores have been found in Mizoram after the military coup in Myanmar, official sources said. The recoveries are more or less linked to the Myanmar crisis, they said. Mizoram shares a 510-km-long international border with Myanmar. Thousands of people from Myanmar fled to the state following the military coup in February last year.

PTI