Police and coastguard forces found the new submachine- guns, AK-47 rifles, submachine carbines, Chinese pistols, rocket shells and launchers, hand grenades and bullets stuffed in around 1,500 wooden boxes during unloading from two vessels at Chittagong Urea Fertilizer Limited jetty.

An unofficial estimate said the consignment might run up to 10,000 arms, 2,000 grenades and three lakh bullets.

Police arrested five men engaged in unloading of the cache, later taken to the arms warehouse at Dampara Police Lines in Chittagong in 10 trucks guarded by a huge contingent of police, coastguard and paramilitary BDR.

Reaching Chittagong by helicopter yesterday afternoon, State Minister for Home Lutfozzaman Babar said the weapons were smuggled in as part of a conspiracy for subversion and did not rule out any link to the April 30 deadline of the main opposition Awami League for the fall of the government.

But a top police officer linked the cache to an international syndicate of arms racketeers.

"We cannot give you the exact number and types of the arms and ammunition until all boxes are opened and a seizure list is prepared," said SM Sabbir Ali, commissioner of Chittagong Metropolitan Police.

"We are yet to find any links to the arms seizure. We don't know the motive for smuggling. A thorough investigation will unravel the crime," he added.

Officials preparing a list near heaps of weapons opened from the olive, blue and white boxes in the police lines ground in the presence of Babar and high police officials said the task would take at least two days.

The police lines ground resembled a huge armoury after opening of the boxes and Food Minister Abdullah Al Noman, State Minister for Civil Aviation Mir Mohammad Nasiruddin and former minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury and locals legislators were surprised at the huge display.

Deputy Commissioner (Port) Abdullahil Baki said Karnaphuli police hemmed in the jetty at 1:00am acting on the secret information that MV Khawja and FT Amanat were disgorging the hardware under the cover of night.

Members of the coastguard, led by Lieutenant Colonel Anwar Khurshid, also sealed the Karnaphuli channel.

Apprehending the movement of security forces the crew of the vessels, truck drivers and most of the 150 workers handling the consignment except for the five arrested fled the scene.

The haul dwarfs the seizure of over 100,000 rifle bullets and 200 kilograms of explosives in Bogra.

Caches of sophisticated weapons were also seized in restive Chittagong Hill tracts over the last few months.

Babar sees it as part of a big conspiracy State Minister for Home Lutfozzaman Babar yesterday described the largest ever seizure of AK-47 rifles and other firearms in Chittagong as part of a "big conspiracy" and did not rule out any possiblelink

Arms haul serious threat to security, says opposition Mainstream opposition parties yesterday demanded immediate investigation into country's largest ever arms seizure in Chittagong, pegging the haul as a serious threat to national security.

Chronicle of gunrunning A string of large arms hauls including the latest in Chittagong suggests some insurgent groups in South Asia are trying to use Bangladesh as a transit point for gunrunning because of its strategic location.