Commandos attached to a police station in the border town of Moreh late on Thursday rounded up a tribal man suspected to be a member of an international gang of gunrunners.
The man, identified as Khaijamang Touthang, is a resident of Yangoubung village in Tengnoupal district. The commandos recovered seven U.S.-made handguns and other accessories from him.
Superintendent of Police T. Bikramjit acknowledged the performances of the commandos by giving them cash rewards.
The seized guns are M&P Bodyguard 380 Smith &Wesson and six Glock 21 Gena USA pistols of different bore. Apart from magazines, police also recovered six barrel cleaning rods, 12 pairs of pistol grip, six pairs of plastic fibre accessories and one cable lock. The accused is now in police custody. He is being grilled for information about his accomplices and the modus operandi of his gang.
Officials said that for many decades international gunrunners had been operating a lucrative business by supplying various guns and explosives to the armed groups numbering a few hundreds in the northeastern region. These items are taken up to the India-Myanmar border. Some sections of people have been smuggling them to Imphal, from where these are taken to other States.
Hand grenades and handguns are smuggled to Imphal by stuffing them in pumpkins, coconuts and other vegetables. Besides, the gunrunners conceal the small weapons in various parts of cars and jeeps. Police say that since hundreds of vehicles ply every day in the highways connecting Imphal with other States, it is not possible to rummage through all of them.
