Thread by @VladAdiReturns

The Whatsapp Shadow Market for Cheap Military-Grade Weapons : How illicit cross-border Arms Networks Exploit Divided Enforcement in Kuki Dominated Regions of Manipur

Full Report Below :

Markets for military-grade weapons has moved beyond hidden
@TinyDhillon @Bimol_Akoijam

depots, border trails and jungles into the digital realm, where access to weapons like assault rifles are becoming disturbingly accessible for cheaper prices.

At the center : A Whatsapp group ironically called "THAL ORDER", where weapon capabilities are discussed, prices are

negotiated and deliveries are planned in plain language as if it were an ordinary marketplace.

The Supply Chain begins across the border with weapons flowing in from Myanmar's conflict zones fed by black markets, war stockpiles and global surplus.

Insurgent groups, foreign

mercenaries like Matthew Van Dyke and civilian facilitators like Daniel Stephen handle logistics, storage and movement.

Documented reports even point to Eastern European Army veterans and foreign specialists training fighters in drone and modern warfare tactics along the

Mizoram border, particularly in Camp Victoria.

The weapons are trafficked through the :
1) Moreh-Tamu Axis
2) Along the timber smuggling routes of the forests of Chandel District.
3) The remote tracks of Behiang in Manipur as well as through the

4) Riverine crossings of

the Champhai axis and remote stretches of the Lawngtlai belt in Mizoram.

But the real fracture is internal. Law enforcement has been observed to be lacking uniformity throughout Manipur.

Security personnel are given the freedom to act assertively and decisively in Imphal

Valley but they are ordered to be reactive in the so-called "Hill Districts" of the state.

Terrain local dynamics and community entanglement, where armed actors are often seen as "defence groups" has turned law enforcement into a cautious, constrained and often negotiated

pursuit for justice.

A weapon can now move from a warzone in Myanmar to a Whatsapp chat in Manipur with alarming ease.

The deeper cost of such selective enforcement and negotiated authority is loss of trust.

When laws are applied unevenly, people stop beleiving in the

system itself. Perception becomes as destabilising as reality.

Intercepting weapons alone will not be enough. Unless enforcement becomes consistent, coordinated and credible, such shadow markets will keep growing and evolving.

Because, once the state's authority becomes

uneven, it eventually weakens to the point of being negotiable.

Full Report :

medium.com/@vladimiradity…