Myanmar man held with 3 AK-47s on Manipur's most sensitive border stretch

Assam Rifles have arrested a 48-year-old Myanmar national with three AK-47 rifles, grenades and 172 rounds of ammunition near Border Pillar 75 in Manipur's Tengnoupal district. Two men who were with him escaped back into Myanmar.

Police said the man, identified as Soetunou, was picked up on Saturday, November 14, during an operation launched on intelligence that three people were moving arms across the international boundary. "One individual was apprehended, while the two others fled towards Myanmar," a police statement quoted by PTI said. NENow reported that he is the son of Usoe and comes from Tamu, the Myanmar border town opposite Moreh.

What was seized

According to the police statement and security officials quoted by India Today NE and NENow, the haul included:

• three AK-47 rifles with three magazines
• 172 rounds of ammunition of different calibres
• three grenades: one Chinese-made grenade, one 40 mm high-explosive rifle grenade and one M-46 Lathode grenade
• two telescopic sights and a steel ammunition box

Police did not say which group, if any, the consignment was meant for. Officials told NENow investigators would trace the weapons' origin and destination, identify the two who escaped and map the smuggling route. Combing operations continue.

Why Border Pillar 75 matters

The arrest took place on a stretch the state government itself has flagged. Speaking in the Manipur Assembly on September 2, Home Minister Govindas Konthoujam said border pillar numbers 75 to 79 "remain one of the most sensitive stretches in the Moreh sector", Hindustan Times and India Today NE reported.

Tengnoupal is one of five Manipur districts, along with Churachandpur, Chandel, Kamjong and Ukhrul, that share the state's 398-km border with Myanmar.

Fencing is far from complete. Konthoujam told the Assembly that about 55 km of the 398 km, from Border Pillar 32 to 130, had been fenced, and that the government is aiming to finish by 2028. He blamed delays on the difficulty of moving construction material. A source quoted by The Economic Times in October put the fenced stretch near Moreh at only about 10 km, so official and on-the-ground figures do not match. Fencing the full 1,643-km India-Myanmar border is estimated to cost Rs 31,000 crore, ET reported.

The rules on who can cross have also changed. The Free Movement Regime, which let border residents go up to 16 km into the other country without a visa, was scrapped by the Ministry of Home Affairs in February 2024. Since December 2024, movement has been limited to about 10 km on a border pass, with biometric checks at designated crossing points, according to an Observer Research Foundation analysis. ET reported that there are 43 such crossing points, with passes issued by Assam Rifles.

Part of a wider arms problem

The seizure comes days after security officials told The New Indian Express that forces in Manipur have seized more than 4,000 firearms that were never part of the police armouries looted during the ethnic violence. They suspect many of these came in from Myanmar, and have found US-made M16A1 rifles and Russian-origin AK-series rifles in raids.

Of the 6,020 weapons looted from police establishments, 5,066 had been recovered by then, leaving 954 untraced, the officials said. We reported those figures in our story on the 4,000-plus non-police firearms.

The border has seen a run of arrests this month. On November 10, Chandel police and 43 Assam Rifles picked up four alleged KYKL and PREPAK cadres near Border Pillars 48 and 50. Earlier, a Myanmar national was found dead in a temporary jail in Churachandpur.

Extortion arrests in the valley

Alongside the border seizure, Manipur Police announced three arrests linked to extortion, India Today NE reported:

• On November 12, the Bishnupur commando unit and Special Forces arrested Ngangom Ibomcha Singh alias Harou, 28, an alleged member of the banned Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP-Apunba), at Irengbam Mamang Makha Leikai. His alleged accomplice, Konjengbam Kumarjit Singh alias Ngakpa, 41, was later picked up from his home at Nambol Leimapokpam Awang Leikai.
• On November 13, the Imphal East commando unit, working with intelligence from 31 Assam Rifles, arrested Thingbaijam Naobi Singh alias Yaima, 47, an alleged UNLF (Pambei) cadre, on Wangkhei Ayangpalli Road under Porompat police station. Police said he extorted money from government offices and private firms, and seized a scooter and Rs 10,000.

Who is affected

Weapons crossing the border feed armed groups blamed for killings, extortion and blockades in both the hills and the valley. Border villagers, Moreh traders and Imphal-Moreh highway commuters bear the cost, and with Assembly elections due early next year, officials told TNIE that breaking the supply chain is a priority.

What to watch

Watch whether police link the consignment to a group, whether the two who escaped are traced, and whether patrolling or fencing between Border Pillars 75 and 79 changes. We will update this story.