The recent hauls of an increasing number of arms in Naikkhyang-chhari in southern Bandarban have sparked alarm among the locals on whether the upazila is gradually becoming a safe route for arms trafficking by terrorists and smugglers.

In February alone, seven USA-made M-79 rifles, three M-16 rifles with 12 additional barrels and 451 bullets and eight locally made guns were recovered from the border area of the upazila.

Between September and December last year, 1,354 bullets in addition to two AK-47 rifles, two .303 rifles, two shot guns, one Chinese 7.62mm pistol, a locally made single-barrel gun, 536 hand grenades, 32 anti-tank mines, seven anti-personnel mines, six 40mm rocket launchers, 10 charge rocket-launcher shells and 19 GF bombs were seized in the upazila.

Joint security forces led by the army recovered those arms in operations in Dochhori Hatir Matha area on September 18, Lemuchhari Hill on October 20, Dochhori on November 5 and Lemuchhari Para on December 30.

A huge quantity of explosives and raw materials for firearms and explosives were also recovered during the raids. Those include 130kg of plastic explosive, two containers of acid, 14 containers of various chemicals, one packet of white potash, one packet of low-explosive, one kg of lead, two packets of lead balls, 14 pieces in parts of rocket-launcher, five coils of electric wire, one coil of safety fuse insulator, 40 battery-connectors and a large quantity of gunpowder.

The joint forces in those operations also recovered one binocular, 11 telephone circuits, three solar panels, one set of radio antennae, two butcher knives, 20 empty magazines and three sets of military uniforms.

Government sources said Naikkhyangchhari, the southernmost upazila of Bandarban hill district, is a sensitive area due to its geographic proximity to about half of the 173-km Bangladesh-Myanmar land-border. For strategic reasons, some powerful arms-trafficking syndicates active in China, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar have been using this remote hilly area as a transit point and a safe haven, they believed.

These crime syndicates have built up heavy armouries in the area to safeguard their trafficking operations, the sources said, adding border security forces of both Bangladesh and Myanmar could not check their cross-border infiltration effectively due to absence of a clear-cut border marking.

Local residents allege that various armed groups often set up camps in the area. Among those, Rohingya Socialist Organisation and newly formed Rohingya Nationalist Organisation are the most active, they said.

Though these groups do not collect tolls or otherwise terrorise them, their mere presence instils fright in them, locals added.