Multiple incidents of foreign nationals crossing into Myanmar from Mizoram have been reported in the recent past, with state police saying that multiple national intelligence agencies had alerted them to possible movement of suspected Western mercenaries along the India-Myanmar border earlier this month.
On March 10, 2025, Chief Minister Lalduhoma informed the state assembly that a surge in foreign visitors had raised security concerns. Between June and December 2024, nearly 2,000 entries by Western visitors were recorded, including U.S. and British nationals, who reportedly crossed the India-Myanmar border to provide military training to resistance forces in Chinland.
A British army operative was arrested at Lengpui Airport on June 19, 2024, for alleged possession of gun cartridges, claiming intelligence inputs suggested the individual, a Ukraine war veteran, had travelled to Myanmar’s Chin State via Mizoram to train rebel groups fighting the military junta.
Highlighting the broader context, Lalduhoma said global powers such as China and the United States are engaged in strategic manoeuvring in Myanmar, placing Mizoram in a sensitive position and underscoring the need for tighter border controls.
A senior police officer said the arrests of the six Ukrainian nationals and one US national by National Investigation Agency (NIA) on charges of entering Mizoram without authorisation have raised concerns over national security, but ruled out any terror plot or planned attack in Mizoram.
