Thai national extradited to India convicted for China-Bangladesh arms plot supporting Naga rebels
Thai citizen Willy Naru, the first Thai ever extradited to India, was found guilty of conspiring to obtain Chinese weapons for the Naga insurgent group NSCN (IM).
In a detailed 600-page ruling, a Delhi court found Thai national Willy Naru—formally Wuthikorn Naruenartwanich—guilty of criminal conspiracy and illegal arms collection for the Naga insurgent faction NSCN (IM). Prosecutors said Naru coordinated a proposed $1.2 million deal to move roughly 800 weapons, including AK-series rifles and ammunition, from a Chinese port to Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, before transferring them to the insurgents.
Evidence of his meetings, overseas trips and communications with NSCN (IM) members and a Chinese supplier, TCL, underpinned the conviction. Naru was arrested in Bangkok in 2013 after an Interpol notice, extradited in 2015 after Thai courts rejected his appeals, becoming the first Thai citizen sent to India for trial. Defence counsel Akshay Bhambri argued no weapons or money were ever recovered and questioned key documents, but the court dismissed those challenges. Sentencing will be heard on September 29.
Why it matters
The case shows India’s ability to secure extradition and prosecute cross-border arms smuggling that fuels insurgency in its northeast.
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