Arms cache in Tachilek seized

War

Arms cache in Tachilek seized

Burmese authorities in Tachilek, across Maesai, recently uncovered a cache of arms believed to be on the way to the far-flung Indian border, writes Tai Touch from Chiangrai:

At 21:30 on 9 December, a raiding party led by Lt-Col Aung Zaw Moe, Tachilek district officer; Pol Lt-Col Aung San Oo, Tachilek district police officer and Maj Kyaw San, head of the local Special Investigations Bureau, found 36 assorted weapons at a row house owned by Ah Way in Ban Wiang Keow, Hawngleuk tract. The tenant, a Chin bearing the name Salai Kehar Hrang, however, was not found.

The loot includes 14 M-22, 3 M-23, 1 M 203 (M16 attached with M 79 grenade launcher), 18 9mm pistols and 16 hand grenades among others.

The Burmese officers were of the opinion that the weapons originated in Thailand and were bound for the Chin resistance on Burma's western border. To which a senior Chin leader in Thailand rejected outright:

"Despite having a Chin name, the guy has nothing to do with the resistance. He is an arms smuggler who is making money selling them to Indian rebels in the northeast corner of India."

The authorities nevertheless have been giving a thorough going over on every vehicle that passes through the Friendship Bridge that spans between the two countries since 12 December.