By  Bhupen Goswami

Guwahati : In yet another crackdown on trans-border smuggling activities in Mizoram, a column of the Serchhip Battalion of Assam Rifles, under the aegis of 23 Sector Assam Rifles/IGAR (East), launched a joint operation with Police in Samthang in Champhai district of Mizoram.   In the operation that was conducted during the wee hours of Wednesday, August 21, the security forces recovered a cache of three AK-56 weapons, along with three magazines of ammunition. A Myanmar national was apprehended during the raid. A press release issued by IW Cell 23 Sector of Assam Rifles stated that the weapons were discreetly hidden in a house in Samthang Village, Champhai. The seized individual, along with the arms, was handed over by Assam Rifles to Champhai Police for further investigation. In recent times, Mizoram state has seen a spike in smuggling activities of items such as weapons, drugs, gold and exotic animals. It is believed that most of the smuggling takes place through the porous Indo-Myanmar border and the security forces believe that the situation is being exploited by smuggling cartels to carry out large scale cross-border illegal activities. It may be mentioned here that on August 4, the team of Assam Rifles had recovered 199 live rounds of ammunition and apprehended two persons carrying the illegal items. Join us as we continue the awareness campaign to preserve the only .Police report said , Assam Rifles and Mizoram police in a joint operation in Champai district on Mizoram-Myanmar border on Wednesday seized three AK-56 rifles and three magazines, police said. A Myanmar national was arrested from Samthang village for the alleged possession of the weapons, the police said. Mizoram shares 404 km-long porous international border with Myanmar which has become one of the main corridors for arms smuggling and drug trafficking due to its strategic location and proximity with the Golden Triangle. The Golden triangle is the area where the borders of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar meet at the confluence of the Ruak and Mekong rivers.