Meitei Airport Staff Involved in Smuggling Contraband Item, Raising Questions on Terror Funding

“A perusal of the ‘Gold Smuggling Cumulative Value Of Illegal Import By Persons With Common Intention To Determine Whether Offence Bailable’ statutory provisions makes it abundantly clear that if the goods, which have been misdeclared or its duty evaded or imported illegally, have a market price of more than One Crore of rupees, the offence becomes non-bailable,” the Kerela High Court observed.

Anti-smuggling unit of the Customs division in Imphal confiscated 19 gold biscuits worth over Rs 1.99 crore from two Meiteis at Imphal International Airport on Sunday. The two have been identified as A. Minaketan Sharma of Bhrahmapur Aribam Leikai in Imphal East district and Maibam Priyobrata Singh of Nambol Kongkham Makha Leikai in Bishnupur district. Of the two, one is a coach driver for IndiGo Airlines. Under the relevant action of the Customs Act, 1962, the two have been arrested, and further investigation to nab other offenders of the case is ongoing.

Manipur alone contributes about 50% of Gold smuggling crimes in the northeast region of India. the anti- smuggling unit report in 2017 stated, a whopping recovery of 137.4 kg of gold, worth around Rs 40 crore, was made in Manipur alone. The recovery from the entire northeast region amounted to 267.2 kg of gold, worth Rs 84.12 crores. With the involvement of Airport staff, it is highly possible that the smuggling is a well-organized cartel and the percentage of Manipur involvement in the crime is expected to rise than it was in 2017. The involvement of the Meitei terrorist outfits still operating in Myanmar cannot be ruled out. The organised illicit black businesses crime ranging from drugs, and guns to gold of these outfits in the state supplying it from Myanmar is an open secret.

Just to give a glimpse of the Meitei Terrorist involvement, on 21 September 2021, ANI news reported the killings of 3 PLA cadres. Their bodies were discovered dumped in a pit in neighbouring Myanmar, where the PLA have set up their bases. A senior Indian army officer said that the PLA cadres were killed by a Myanmar-based drug cartel in a clash. This was one of the many instances said, the Indian army officer. Despite the successful smuggling of drugs in India via the Northeast region, many of these groups failed to pay the money to drug cartels in Myanmar. The existence of other Meitei terrorist outfit bases is no secret either. Thus who is the real Narco- terrorist?

As far as the North East Smuggling Route is concerned, according to the DRI Report, 73% of the gold caught had been brought through Myanmar and Bangladesh. 37% of all the gold seized in FY22 was from Myanmar. 20% of it originated from West Asia. With the proximity of Manipur to Myanmar, it is likely the smuggled Gold must have come from the war-torn country. The continual existence of black market business with Myanmar doesn’t line up with the hue and cry of the Anti -Myanmar refugee stance of the Meitei public and Biren government in general and Arambai Tenggol in particular.

Gold smuggling, widely viewed as an economic offence, has gained a criminal edge. Economic offences not only inflict pecuniary losses on individuals but also damage the national economy and have security implications as well. The offences of smuggling of narcotic substances, counterfeiting of currency and valuable securities, financial scams, frauds, gold smuggling, money laundering hawala transactions etc. evoke serious concern about their impact on national security.

The past few months are quite telling of the attitude of Meiteis on Indian Law. One can make an assumption that Criminal offences of Indian Laws, guidelines, rules and regulations must have been Meitei’s favourite recreation. Ranging from the smuggling of drugs even in the capital city Delhi to the smuggling of gold, from domestic crimes to economic offences, from poaching of animals to genocide pogrom of a community, from singing lewd and defamatory songs to gang rape, from attacking religious institutions to God himself, from arson of homes to education institutions, from ransom to murder, from forceful donation to physical assault, from assaulting vegetable vendors to favouritism/discriminatory politics of marks based on being Meitei and non-Meitei, and the list goes on. They left no stone unturned to break and disregard Indian Laws but still got the audacity to generalize the illegal activities of a few to defame the whole community as narco-terrorists as if there ain’t a society where rotten apples didn’t exist. However, there is only a handful of communities where a majority of the community unanimously resorts to breaking laws, the Meitei community is an example.

Where is the money if the Kukis are Narco-terrorist? They should not have been affected had they been into an organised drug cartel that sponsors terrorism. The plight of those in relief centres, employees of unorganized sectors, daily wage labourers, the number of dropouts from schools and colleges, the tally of deaths due to unavailability of proper medical facilities and economic resources, the ever-increasing numbers of children helping their parents to sell fruits and vegetables and the sorry state of their kitchen and maintenance of most household since the advent of 3rd May genocide pogrom says otherwise. Thus one cannot help but question on seeing the ground reality as to if Narco-terrorist is a tag to blindside Indians and the world to shield the alienation of Kukis and their lands from development funds by the State government, and from the helping hand of central government, NGOs, international organisations and other Indian states? It is possible since the pogrom is a state-sponsored one. Thus, Meiteis should first take the log out of their own eye before preaching on the speck of another’s eye. Hypocrisy won’t wash away one of his crimes. People might suffer a little setback due to one’s lie and defamation but they should know Satyamev Jayate or Truth alone triumphs.