Guwahati : The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) had seized two AK-47 rifles and arrested a person in Mizoram, officials said.
Acting on a specific information about smuggling of AK-47 rifles from Myanmar through Mizoram border into India for further delivery to some insurgent groups in Bangladesh, the officers of DRI, searched a residential premises at Chawnpui in Aizwal and recovered a loaded sack which was about to be transported by the occupants of the said premises.
On examination, the sack was found to contain Ginger.
Further examination of the said ginger sack resulted in recovery of a packet wrapped with old and used news paper.
On opening the said packet, two AK-47 rifles totally valued at Rs 20 lakhs were recovered and seized under Customs Act.
“Import of any article or commodity that is in violation of any Act for the time being in force automatically becomes a violation under Customs Act by virtue of Section 111(d) of the Customs Act. In this case, the arms have been smuggled into India from an unauthorized route across the Indo-Myanmar border besides being prohibited from being imported in this manner. As such, this has resulted in violation of Sections 10 and 11 of the Arms Act which require a proper license for import and export of firearms and which prohibit the import and export unless certain conditions are fulfilled. Violation of these provisions of Arms Act automatically result in a violation of the Customs Act too, which is punishable under Section 135 of the Customs Act apart from being punishable under the requisite provisions of Arms Act too,” a top DRI official said.
The Mizoram resident from whose possession recovery of two AK-47 rifles was made, has been arrested under Section 104 of the Customs Act and has been since produced before the Court, wherein the Magistrate was pleased to send him to Judicial custody.
In a swift joint operation launched by the DRI and Assam Rifles thereafter to identify and locate other members of the syndicate involved in this offense, another person who was acting as conduit between the arrested person (from whose possession two AK-47 rifles were recovered and seized) was identified and considering his involvement, he has also been arrested.
He also been remanded to judicial custody for a period of fourteen days.
Further, three more persons, who are understood to be the intended buyers of the weapons have been identified, again with the active assistance of Assam Rifles.
They have also been placed under Arrest under the provisions of the Customs Act read with Arms Act.
Further investigation is under progress in this case.
(By Hemanta Kumar Nath, Guwahati)
