Manipur: Meetei body demands NIA probe into Mizoram arms seizure, questions trade with Kuki-Chin militants

The Delhi Meetei Co-Ordinating Committee (DMCC) has called for an urgent investigation into potential links between a major arms seizure in Mizoram and the ongoing violence in Manipur, following the arrest of a Myanmar militant leader.

The committee has urged both the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Mizoram Police to investigate whether weapons seized near Saithah village on January 15 were "intended for trade between the Kuki-Chin militants who have been actively part of the kuki military aggression against Meeteis in Manipur Violence since 3rd May 2023."

The weapons cache, discovered in Mamit district, included six AK-47 rifles, more than 10,000 rounds of ammunition, and 13 magazines. Among the five arrested was a high-ranking leader of the Myanmar-based Chin National Front (CNF).

"These 'Arms Seizure in Mizoram' were the real arms and not as claimed by Kuki-Chin militants in Manipur many times as 'Kuki-Chin militants were holding wood guns in Manipur,'" the DMCC stated in its press release.

Mizoram Police reported that preliminary investigation suggests the weapons were meant for trade between the CNF and the United People's Democratic Front (UPDF P), an insurgent group operating in Bangladesh's Chittagong Hill Tracts. "With this catch, a serious threat to regional peace and stability has been neutralized," the police stated.

The DMCC highlighted previous arms trafficking incidents in the region, including a July 2024 NIA case against "Mizoram-based ethnic groups engaged in illegal trafficking of arms, ammunitions, explosive etc. in the north eastern region of the country."

The operation, described as "one of the largest arms recoveries in Mizoram," was conducted through collaboration between Mizoram Police and an unnamed intelligence agency. The case has been registered at West Phaileng Police Station.

Media coordinator Naorem Lilina called for recognition of such crackdowns on international arms trafficking, emphasising their importance for regional security.