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Naikkhongchhari: A transit point for arms smuggle

SHAHIDUL ISLAM
***Myanmar-based militant groups collect heavy firearms, including AK-47 rifles and conduct training camps at the deep forests of
Naikkhongchhari. A portion of those firearms are sold out to different terrorist groups in Bangladesh****
Naikkhongchhari upazila of Bandarban hill district has become over the years a safe transit point for smuggling and dealings of heavy and sophisticated arms.
Besides, the remote dense forests here have also turned into a secure hideout for foreign-based, especially Myanmar militant or rebel groups and tribal criminal gangs.
In separate or joint raids since September last year, Army and Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) dismantled several hideouts and recovered around 200 sophisticated firearms, ammunitions and war-instruments from Naikkhongchhari. The arms and ammo included Ak-47 rifle, M-16,
Ak-56, G-3 rifle, foreign-made pistol, anti-aircraft rocket launcher, anti-tank grenade, hand grenade, land mine, explosives and military uniform.
On June 17, a joint team of army and police in a predawn raid at Kalaghata in Bandarban arrested nine Manipuri people whom they linked to an insurgent group of Indian state of Manipur. The law enforcers picked up 10 people from the house of one RK Khambal and a farmhouse deep into the forest, but later released one after primary interrogation. They seized some Indian currencies, a powerful binocular and some documents from their possession. They are active members of a rebel outfit, the People's Liberation Army of Manipur (PLAM), which is fighting for an independent state,
sources said.
Law enforcers arrested two criminals Zahed Alam and Monzur Alam (both are from Ramu in Cox's Bazar) with 190 bullets of Ak-47 rifle at Naikkhongchhari on May 28.
An army-BDR joint team on March 14 raided deep forest at Mong Thua area in Dochhari Bazar and recovered seven SMG, seven walkie-talkies, 29 land mines, seven detonators and few instruments from a
makeshift hideout.
Army and BDR dismantled a militant hideout and seized 11 Ak-47, 53 magazines, over 1500 bullets of Ak-47 and huge instruments at remote Chikanchhari forest on January 6. In another
raid at the same place on December 16 last year, law enforcement agencies recovered 25 Ak-47, two M-16s and huge ammunitions and explosives.
Several Myanmar-based militant groups have set up their
hideouts at deep forests of Naikkhongchhari, sources said. They used to operate from there, collect heavy firearms and conduct training camps. A portion of those firearms are sold out through arms dealers to different terrorist groups in Chittagong, Dhaka and other parts of the country, sources added.
The sophisticated firearms like Ak-47, Ak-56, M-16, G-3 rifle, SMG, pistol, grenade have a good demand to criminal groups operating in Chittagong, Dhaka and elsewhere and they buy those arms at a very high price, sources said.
Ak-47, M-16 and G-3 rifles are sold at Tk 1.50 to Tk 2 lakh; Israeli-made Uzi submachine gun and Ak-56 rifle at Tk 1 to Tk 1.50 lakh; sophisticate pistol at Tk 50,000 to Tk1lakh; a hand
grenade at Tk 2,000; an Ak-47 bullet at Tk 30 and a bullet of Tommy gun at Tk 20, sources added.
The most active militant groups are Arakan Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (ARSO), National United Party of Arakan (NUPA), Arakan Rohingya Islamic Front Organisation (ARIFO), Democratic Party of Arakan (DPA), Arakan Rohingya National Organisation (ARNO), Arakan Liberal Party (ALP) and Arakan Army (AA).
Bangladesh and Myanmar has a 188-kilometre borderline. Of this, about 100 km from pillar no 1 to 55 is protected with arrangement of paramilitary BDR. But the remaining 88 kms are left unprotected, as those are dense forests, sources said.