Manipur: 4,000-plus non-police firearms seized, forces flag Myanmar link

Security forces in Manipur have seized more than 4,000 firearms that were never part of the police armouries looted during the ethnic violence, and officials believe many of them came in from Myanmar, The New Indian Express reported on Monday, citing officials in the security establishment.

The finding has prompted a change in approach on the ground, with forces told to work more closely with intelligence agencies to break up cross-border supply chains. Manipur is due to hold Assembly elections early next year.

Looted police weapons: most back, 954 missing

According to figures shared by the officials:

• 6,020 weapons were looted from police establishments after the violence began.
• 5,066 of them, or about 84 per cent, have been recovered so far.
• 954 remain untraced, and officials fear they could be used by militant groups or armed gangs.

Officials credited the recoveries to a mix of appeals by senior political and constitutional figures, search operations based on intelligence inputs, and negotiations at the community level. Recovered and surrendered arms, from AK-series, INSAS and M16 rifles to mortars and grenades, have often been put on public display to keep pressure on those still holding weapons.

The bigger worry

The officials said the seizure of over 4,000 other firearms, which do not match the looted police stock, points to a wide network of illegal arms possession and trade whose full size is still not known.

A senior security official said Manipur Police and other forces carry out about half a dozen raids a day on average, often using specialised units, to trace weapons and dismantle networks with links across the Myanmar border. Most guns found in recent operations are not police weapons, he said; they include old firearms as well as sophisticated and modified ones.

Raids have turned up weapons of foreign origin, including US-made M16A1 rifles and Russian-origin AK-series assault rifles, according to the official. Some can be traced by their make and features, but officials said working out their exact origin and routes needs more investigation.

Why it matters

Recovering the looted police arms has been a key demand of civil society groups and a central part of the state's efforts to restore normalcy since 2023. The officials' account suggests that even with most of that stock back, a separate supply of illegal weapons remains in circulation, and that cutting it off will be central to lasting peace in the state.

Officials did not say over what period the 4,000-plus firearms were seized or give a district-wise break-up. NEInsider will add official figures if the Manipur Police or the state government releases them.