Aizawl: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday laid bare a sinister cross-border arms smuggling operation, filing a comprehensive chargesheet against five individuals in connection with the seizure of a substantial cache of prohibited weapons in Mizoram. These arms, investigators allege, were earmarked for the United Peoples Democratic Front (UPDF), a militant outfit operating out of Bangladesh’s Chittagong region.
The chargesheet, submitted before a special NIA court in Aizawl, names Lalbiakchunga alias Divid alias David, Lalthawmcheuva alias Thawma, Malsawma alias Malsawma Loncheu, Rualliansanga alias Sanga, and Alok Bikash Chakma as the accused. They face a slew of serious charges under various stringent laws of the land, including provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967, the Arms Act, 1959, and the Foreigners Act, 1946.
The intricate case first surfaced on January 15, 2025, when the Mizoram Police registered the initial complaint. However, the true scale of the criminal enterprise began to unravel two months later when the NIA took over the investigation. Their deeper probe unearthed a larger conspiracy to funnel arms and ammunition to the UPDF. The seized weaponry, a formidable haul including six AK-47 rifles, thirteen magazines, and a staggering 10,050 rounds of ammunition, was recovered from Saithah village in Mizoram’s Mamit district. The NIA’s ongoing investigation aims to unearth further connections within this insidious cross-border smuggling network, as authorities continue their relentless pursuit of all those involved in arming militant groups across the border.