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Thai gunrunner Wuthikorn Naruenartwanich alias Willy is spilling the beans after his arrest in Bangkok at the weekend.
He has already provided details of how Chinese weapons, procured through a maze of fronts, found their way to northeast India's Naga rebels through Bangladesh.
Willy has corroborated details provided by India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) in a chargesheet against arrested Naga rebel leader Anthony Shimray that a huge shipment of Chinese weapons was to head for the Cox's Bazar coast from Beihei port in the South China Sea soon.
Shimray was shown arrested in Patna though Indian intelligence admit he was picked up from Kathmandu with help from Nepal police on Oct 2, 2010.
He has confessed to the NIA during interrogation that he paid an advance of $ 800,000 this April to a Bangkok-based company to source rocket launchers, grenades, assault rifles and ammunition for the Naga and other insurgent groups in northeast India from a weapons supplier in mainland China.
Shimray, 50, has revealed that he has been frequently travelling to Beijing and is in constant touch with the Chinese intelligence.
The NIA chargesheet names Willy, Shimray and two others in the arms smuggling case they have filed and one of their team has arrived in Thailand to seek Willy's extradition.
Willy has told Thai police that the huge arms consignment was to start from Beihei port in South China Sea near Vietnam and reach Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh.
On the high seas the consignment was to be shifted to small fishing trawlers to reach Bangladesh, and then to the north-east.
NIA officials say they want to secure the details of the Bangladesh contacts from Willy and touch base with Dhaka for a crackdown on them.
"That would help us break the chain," said a senior NIA official. "We now get lot of cooperation from Bangladesh."
He said Bangladesh had fears that some of these weapons would find their way to Islamist radicals working against the present regime.
"Our counterparts in Bangladesh are equally keen to get the details of the Bangladeshis involved in the arms trafficking chain that stretches from China to India through southeast Asia and Bangladesh."
An NIA team is camping in Bangkok to interrogate Willy on these matters and start the process of extradition. Willy had a red corner notice pending against him and was arrested by Thailand Police on request from India following signing of extradition treaty between the two countries last year.
NIA officials say they have robust evidence against Willy to ensure his extradition through a Thai court.
The agency has got hold of emails exchanged between NSCN (I-M) leaders and Willy about the impending deal of 1,000 fire arms including AK rifles, machine guns and rocket launchers where transaction cost for procurement of arms has negotiated from $2 million to $1 million.
The NIA says it also has evidence of $700,000 paid to a Chinese firm by Willy for the deal. The middleman who introduced Shimray and other leaders of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland to Willy is now a witness in the case.
"We are confident that we will be able to secure his extradition given the evidence we have," said an NIA official.
According to NIA chargesheet, Willy put the NSCN leaders in touch with one Yuthna, a representative of Chinese firm TCL.
TCL was a go-between for Chinese defence giant Noricno, NIA suspects.
For the deal, Shimray had paid $100,000 to Willy in May, 2009, and later the money was sent to TCL.
The NIA has electronic receipt of the payment. Shimray also received $800,000 in Bangkok from NSCN (I-M) out of which $700,000 was paid to TCL via Willy. Rest of the sum was paid to shipping agent Kittichai of Intermarine Shipping Company of Bangkok.
NIA officials say that a definite money trail exists as payment to Chinese firm was made through normal banking channels via a leading private bank's branch in an African country.
NSCN has parked its funds in bank accounts across several African nations, they say.
Thai gunrunner spills China, Bangladesh links - bdnews24.com
He has already provided details of how Chinese weapons, procured through a maze of fronts, found their way to northeast India's Naga rebels through Bangladesh.
Willy has corroborated details provided by India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) in a chargesheet against arrested Naga rebel leader Anthony Shimray that a huge shipment of Chinese weapons was to head for the Cox's Bazar coast from Beihei port in the South China Sea soon.
Shimray was shown arrested in Patna though Indian intelligence admit he was picked up from Kathmandu with help from Nepal police on Oct 2, 2010.
He has confessed to the NIA during interrogation that he paid an advance of $ 800,000 this April to a Bangkok-based company to source rocket launchers, grenades, assault rifles and ammunition for the Naga and other insurgent groups in northeast India from a weapons supplier in mainland China.
Shimray, 50, has revealed that he has been frequently travelling to Beijing and is in constant touch with the Chinese intelligence.
The NIA chargesheet names Willy, Shimray and two others in the arms smuggling case they have filed and one of their team has arrived in Thailand to seek Willy's extradition.
Willy has told Thai police that the huge arms consignment was to start from Beihei port in South China Sea near Vietnam and reach Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh.
On the high seas the consignment was to be shifted to small fishing trawlers to reach Bangladesh, and then to the north-east.
NIA officials say they want to secure the details of the Bangladesh contacts from Willy and touch base with Dhaka for a crackdown on them.
"That would help us break the chain," said a senior NIA official. "We now get lot of cooperation from Bangladesh."
He said Bangladesh had fears that some of these weapons would find their way to Islamist radicals working against the present regime.
"Our counterparts in Bangladesh are equally keen to get the details of the Bangladeshis involved in the arms trafficking chain that stretches from China to India through southeast Asia and Bangladesh."
An NIA team is camping in Bangkok to interrogate Willy on these matters and start the process of extradition. Willy had a red corner notice pending against him and was arrested by Thailand Police on request from India following signing of extradition treaty between the two countries last year.
NIA officials say they have robust evidence against Willy to ensure his extradition through a Thai court.
The agency has got hold of emails exchanged between NSCN (I-M) leaders and Willy about the impending deal of 1,000 fire arms including AK rifles, machine guns and rocket launchers where transaction cost for procurement of arms has negotiated from $2 million to $1 million.
The NIA says it also has evidence of $700,000 paid to a Chinese firm by Willy for the deal. The middleman who introduced Shimray and other leaders of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland to Willy is now a witness in the case.
"We are confident that we will be able to secure his extradition given the evidence we have," said an NIA official.
According to NIA chargesheet, Willy put the NSCN leaders in touch with one Yuthna, a representative of Chinese firm TCL.
TCL was a go-between for Chinese defence giant Noricno, NIA suspects.
For the deal, Shimray had paid $100,000 to Willy in May, 2009, and later the money was sent to TCL.
The NIA has electronic receipt of the payment. Shimray also received $800,000 in Bangkok from NSCN (I-M) out of which $700,000 was paid to TCL via Willy. Rest of the sum was paid to shipping agent Kittichai of Intermarine Shipping Company of Bangkok.
NIA officials say that a definite money trail exists as payment to Chinese firm was made through normal banking channels via a leading private bank's branch in an African country.
NSCN has parked its funds in bank accounts across several African nations, they say.
Thai gunrunner spills China, Bangladesh links - bdnews24.com
