OUR CORRESPONDENT
ITANAGAR: The Khonsa Battalion of Assam Rifles and Longding district police in Arunachal Pradesh arrested three operatives of the Yung Aung faction of the NSCN (K) over the past two days, sources said. The joint team of security forces also seized a large cache of drugs and cash from their possession, police sources from the district said. The three operatives of the rebel outfit were arrested from Wakka and Khanu villages near the Indo-Myanmar border during the joint operation on June 17 and 18, the sources said. The operation was launched based on input regarding the presence of suspected NSCN-K (YA) operatives near Wakka town. The persons were arrested with heroin-based narcotic substances worth approximately Rs 7 lakh. A case has been registered, and the arrested operatives were handed over to district police for further interrogation, the sources said.
The operatives were carrying the narcotic substance procured from the border areas via Myanmarese operatives, reportedly in order to raise money for underground groups. The drug trade is turning out to be a major nuisance in the region. It is speculated that the drug trade is part of a larger narco-terror racket that is fueling the fledgling insurgency in the region.
Since extortion activities have plummeted and population support has been waning, the anti-national elements are evidently devising new ways to fuel insurgency in the region, the police said. The security forces have taken a stand to shut down the narco-terrorism nexus, and the apprehension of the individuals is a major setback to the nefarious designs of the insurgents, the police added.
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