Aizawl, Feb 23 (Reporter) Security forces recovered a substantial quantity of explosives near Aizawl, leading to the arrest of three individuals, including two women, officials said. According to a press statement issued by Assam Rifles on Sunday, personnel acting on specific intelligence set up a Mobile Vehicle Check Post along Sakawrtuichhun Quarry Road in the western part of Aizawl. The operation targeted the movement of explosives in the area. During the operation, on Friday, a vehicle heading from Aizawl towards Sakawrtuichhun was intercepted. Upon conducting a thorough search of the vehicle, the troops uncovered 4,980 sticks of emulsion explosives weighing approximately 622.5 kg, the statement said. The three individuals inside the vehicle were immediately taken into custody, and the explosives, along with the vehicle, were confiscated. The arrested individuals and the seized items were later handed over to Vaivakawn Police Station in Aizawl, police sources confirmed. Police are still investigating the intended destination of the explosives, and while no direct links have been confirmed, the involvement of a Bangladesh-based insurgent group has not been ruled out, sources said. This seizure comes on the heels of another major bust earlier this month. On February 2, police in Lunglei, a town in southern Mizoram, confiscated a cache of firearms and ammunition, including two AK-47 assault rifles, five US-made M4 Carbines, 20 magazines, 504 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition, and 4,675 rounds of 5.56mm ammunition. Additionally, Rs. 49,550 in cash, multiple ID cards, SIM cards, ATM cards, and five mobile phones were also recovered. Three men, identified as Roni Chakma (45) from Hospital Para, Manu in Tripura’s Dhalai district, Anirban Chakma (34) from Adubangasora in Mizoram’s Lawngtlai district, and Ribeng (24) from Tipperaghat in Lunglei district, were arrested in connection with the smuggling of these weapons. A senior police officer stated that statements made by the accused linked the seized arms to the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS), a splinter faction of the former Bangladesh-based insurgent group, Shanti Bahini. Intelligence agencies have expressed concerns over a rising trend in arms and explosives smuggling in Mizoram, attributing it to the ongoing armed resistance against the military junta in Myanmar and the recent political instability in Bangladesh following the ousting of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina...////...