Three arms smugglers held in Meghalaya, Assam

Two arms smugglers were arrested in Meghalaya Monday with a cache of arms and ammunition meant for Garo rebels while another was held in Assam with over Rs.1 lakh in cash to buy the weapons, police said.

The arms were smuggled out from Assam' Karbi Anglong district and were to be supplied to the Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) outfit, a police official said.

A vehicle loaded with weapons was intercepted and three AK-series rifles and 150 rounds of ammunition were seized in Williamnagar town, Inspector General of Police (Operations) G.H.P. Raju told IANS.

Williamnagar, about 300 km west of Shillong, is the headquarters of East Garo Hills district.

The arrested people were identified as Jotin Marak, Mintu Das and Sagar Chism - all from Karbi Anglong.

"Based on the confession of Marak and Das, Assam Police arrested Sagar Chism from Guwahati and recovered Rs.1,22,900 in cash from his possession which was sent by GNLA military wing chief Sohan D. Shira as advance payment for the arms and ammunition," Raju said.

All the three arrested smugglers are also members of the United Democratic People's Solidarity (UDPS), a rebel group operating in Karbi Anglong.