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50 Myanmarese nationals arrested in Mizoram
At least 50 Myanmarese nationals were arrested on charges of drug trafficking and other crimes, officials said.
At least 50 Myanmarese nationals have been arrested in Mizoram on charges of drug trafficking and other crimes, officials said on Saturday.
A police spokesman said the arrests were made during the past week in a drive against illegal Myanmarese nationals in the state that borders Myanmar.
"We have put the Myanmarese nationals in the central jail. Some of those arrested were indulging in drug trafficking, some were criminals, and others simply trespassed into our state without any valid travel documents," Mizoram police chief Lalngheta said.
Most of the arrests were made in the state capital Aizawl as part of an ongoing offensive codenamed Operation Hailstorm against suspected Myanmarese ethnic rebels and drug peddlers.
India and Myanmar share a 1,640 km-long unfenced border of which 350 km lies along Mizoram state.
"The border is open and it is a real big problem to check infiltration from the other side of the fence," the police chief said.
Last month, paramilitary commandos evicted hundreds of Myanmarese guerrillas belonging to the Chin National Army (CNA) from southern Mizoram. CNA had set up well-entrenched bases in the thick jungles of Mizoram adjacent to the border.
The CNA is the armed wing of the Chin National Force (CNF) founded in 1988 to fight against the military-run Myanmarese government for more autonomy for the various ethnic minority groups in that country.
Many young Chin tribal youths from Myanmar entered India during the height of the pro-democracy uprising and later joined the CNF.
"Our troops are still on alert along the border to prevent the rebels from setting up bases once again in our state," Lalngheta said.
Several ethnic rebel groups from Myanmar have in the past made forays into parts of Mizoram either for carrying out extortion or for trafficking drugs, taking advantage of the rugged mountainous terrain along the border.
"Some of the rebel groups and other Myanmarese nationals were involved in gunrunning that has become a very lucrative business in the area," a senior intelligence official said.
At least five frontline anti-India rebel armies operating in the country's northeast have bases in northern Myanmar from where they carry out their hit-and-run guerrilla strikes on federal troops in the region.
India's porous and mountainous northeastern frontiers, bordering Myanmar and Bangladesh, have become one of the world's busiest small arms' bazaars, feeding insurgencies and rebellions across South Asia.
"The unfenced border area has always been a hot favourite with gunrunners. Illegal arms consignments reach the northeast via Bangladesh and Myanmar at frequent intervals," Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga said.
