The Indian Army and Assam Police have arrested total ten persons, including one NSCN-IM Over Ground Worker (OGW), in Tinsukia, and therby successfully dismantled a major extortion network of NSCN-IM in Upper Assam, PRO and Spokesperson, Ministry of Defence, Manipur, Nagaland and Southern Arunachal Pradesh has said in a press release.

It also informed that acting on reliable information, a joint operation was launched in multiple areas of Tinsukia District, Assam, resulting in the apprehension of five key link persons involved in channellising the extortion money to NSCN (IM) cadres.

The security forces had kept surveillance on a tea garden owner who received an extortion threat of Rs 10 Lakhs from an NSCN-IM cadre that led to the arrest of an OGW and also the apprehension of four more linked persons, disrupting the entire extortion chain.