A Delhi court has convicted Willy Naru, a Thai national and the first citizen of Thailand extradited to India. He was found guilty of conspiring to procure advanced arms and ammunition from China via Bangladesh for the Naga insurgent group NSCN (IM). This case highlights ongoing concerns regarding arms trafficking and insurgency in the region, as officials continue to address the complex dynamics of international crime and security.
The NIA had described the arrest as a significant breakthrough in its investigation into the international arms-procurement network. Official records describe it as the first time India secured the extradition of a Thai national to stand trial in India. The extradition followed a prolonged legal battle in Thailand. At the time, Indian investigators described Naru as a crucial link in establishing the alleged chain of Chinese arms supplies to insurgent groups in the Northeast.
The 600-page judgment, made available on Friday, held that evidence including Naru’s meetings, foreign travel and communications established his involvement in the alleged arms procurement network. An Interpol Red Corner Notice was issued against Naru in 2011 after the NIA filed its chargesheet. He was arrested by Thai authorities in Bangkok on August 30, 2013, following India’s extradition request. A Thai court ordered his extradition in 2014, and Thailand’s appellate court rejected his challenge in November 2015. Naru was eventually handed over to the NIA and transferred to India on December 8, 2015.
Court Rules on Investigating Officer’s Conduct
A recent court ruling found insufficient evidence to suggest that the investigating officer acted with malice towards Naru or fabricated evidence against him. The decision emphasized that no material was presented to support claims of ill-will or intentional misconduct in the investigation.
The NIA alleged that the NSCN (IM) members had conspired to procure a huge consignment of arms and ammunition, while Naru assisted them as an arms procurer and became a co-conspirator. Because the concerned person had not been examined by the NIA in the trial, it also held that reliance on evidence from the extradition proceedings was misplaced. The agency alleged that $800,000 had nevertheless been paid to Naru. How Naru got involved Naru, described by the NIA as a Thailand-based arms smuggler and procurer stationed in Bangkok, was charge-sheeted in 2011 along with NSCN (IM) functionaries Anthony Shimray, TR Calvin and Hangshi Ramson Tangkhul.
The NIA alleged that the deal was ultimately postponed in September 2010 because the “ground situation in Bangladesh was not favourable” for NSCN (IM).
Shimray and Calvin were introduced to Naru through a protected witness in Bangkok, according to the NIA. The agency alleged that Naru arranged the procurement through a Chinese arms company, TCL, and introduced the NSCN (IM) representatives to its representative. Naru became a key figure in the National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) investigation into an alleged international arms-procurement network linking NSCN (IM), Chinese arms suppliers, Thailand and a proposed route through Bangladesh into India’s Northeast. The agency alleged that the weapons were to be loaded at Beihei port in southern China and delivered on the high seas near Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, where they would be transferred to smaller fishing trawlers for onward movement. The proposed consignment included AK-series rifles, light machine guns, pistols, sniper rifles, rocket-propelled launchers, grenade launchers and ammunition. The prosecution also alleged procurement of TNT and RDX. The shortage allegedly prompted the outfit to explore a fresh bulk procurement. The NIA also alleged that the proposed transaction was part of a wider pattern in which NSCN (IM) procured arms from China. The agency had alleged that the outfit regularly sourced arms from China, including from NORINCO (North China Industries Corporation). Arrest and extradition Defence challenges prosecution case Naru’s counsel, advocate Akshay Bhambri, disputed the existence of any completed arms transaction and argued that the prosecution had failed to establish that weapons were actually purchased or supplied. The defence pointed out that no arms were recovered, no money transfer through a bank account had been proved, no cash was recovered and no financial records establishing the alleged transaction were produced. The counsel also alleged that a receipt relied upon by the prosecution was fabricated and false. The defence further relied on the alleged position of TCL, arguing that the Chinese company had denied knowing Naru and denied shipping weapons to India or Bangladesh. It also questioned the authenticity of the receipt relied upon by the prosecution. The court, however, rejected these contentions, observing that the defence’s challenge concerning the document had not been put to the relevant prosecution witnesses for their explanation.
Special National Investigation Agency (NIA) Judge Prashant Sharma of Rouse Avenue Courts convicted Naru, formally known as Wuthikorn Naruenartwanich, under Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 122 (collecting arms, etc., with intention of waging war against the Government of India) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The matter has been fixed for arguments on sentence on September 29. The NIA registered the case on December 18, 2020, and filed the chargesheet against Shimray, Calvin, Tangkhul and Naru on March 26, 2011. The court said, “The surrounding circumstances, including the meetings, repeated foreign travel, communications concerning shipment of arms and ammunition, and the evidence regarding the activities and organisational structure of NSCN(IM), when considered cumulatively, lend corroboration to the prosecution case regarding the involvement of A-4 (Naru) in the procurement and facilitation of arms and ammunition for NSCN(IM). The alleged arms deal According to the NIA, Naru helped arrange the proposed procurement of around 800 weapons, including 600 AK-series rifles, 9mm sub-machine guns, light machine guns and pistols, besides one lakh rounds of ammunition. The deal was initially estimated at $1 million but was allegedly finalised at $1.2 million, including $200,000 towards transshipment, according to the agency. The agency’s case was that NSCN (IM) had faced a shortage of weapons after one of its senior leaders, Azetho Sumi, allegedly deserted the outfit in 2007 and joined NSCN (K), taking 70-80 weapons with him. The prosecution relied on the testimony of 28 witnesses, besides documentary and electronic evidence, to establish the conspiracy.
It added, “The evidence further establishes the role of A-1 (Shimray) and A-4 in communicating with persons associated with NSCN(IM) in connection with the procurement and transportation of a substantial quantity of sophisticated arms and ammunition from China through Bangladesh”. Shimray allegedly told Naru that he wanted to procure a large quantity of weapons, including AK-series rifles, light machine guns, pistols, rocket-propelled grenades, rocket launchers and ammunition.
