Arms smugglers arrested in Manipur

Two men were arrested by a combined team of Manipur Police and Assam Rifles on Sunday for allegedly smuggling arms, police said. Imphal East Superintendent of Police H Jogeshwar said, acting on specific input about movement of the arms smugglers, the security forces intercepted a vehicle, carrying the two persons, at Khabam Chumreithong, near here.

The Dimapur-bound vehicle was coming from Churachandpur district in Manipur. During the operations, the security forces recovered an AK-56 rifle along with 3 magazines and 80 live rounds of ammunition from the possession of the duo.

The two persons, who hailed from Churachandpur, were identified as 35-year-old Songthianlam Paite and 24-year-old Khupngaihsuan Paite. Preliminary investigation revealed that the arms were to be delivered to another man in Dimapur, the officer said.

The development comes at a time when heavy security arrangements have been made in view of the ongoing annual Sangai Tourism festival.