Aizawl: Assam Rifles has seized a major cache of arms, ammunition and explosives in Mizoram’s Champhai district, the force said on Sunday.
Acting on intelligence inputs, troops launched an operation on August 29 at Saikumphai village, where they cordoned off a house.
The initial search led to the recovery of a 12-bore rifle, a pistol, ammunition and explosives.
A further search in a nearby forest uncovered a hidden cache packed with sophisticated weapons and war-like stores.
Among the seized items were a Heckler and Koch G3 assault rifle, two Springfield sniper rifles, two shotguns, an MA assault rifle and two hand grenades.
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The haul also included 75 live sniper rounds, 92 tracer rounds of .303 calibre, 30 live 7.62mm rounds, 91 rounds of 5.56mm, eight live and two fired 12-bore cartridges, and both live and fired 9mm rounds.
In addition, troops recovered three drums of Cordtex, seven packets of PEK explosives, IED-making materials, a cylindrical explosive packet, two rifle scopes, three bulletproof jackets, a bulletproof plate and a belt.
The house owner was taken into custody. All seized items and the accused have been handed over to Dungtlang police in Champhai district for further investigation.