Sittwe: Two special police forces have been deployed to combat rampant armed robberies in the border townships of western Burma's Arakan State, said a police officer from the Arakan State Police Headquarters in the capital Sittwe.

"Two units of police forces were sent to Buthidaung and Maungdaw Townships last Wednesday by the state headquarters, to combat cross-border robberies," said the officer on condition of anonymity.

The officer said that more than 40 dacoities, which were deemed to be committed by cross-border robbers, have been reported since mid-2009 in those townships near Bangladesh. Seven FIRs have been lodged in the local police stations, and most of the cases were reported to Nasaka forces deployed to guard the border in those townships.

"Police are responsible for curbing crime in the state, that is why the police headquarters has sent additional forces to strengthen the local police stations to crack down on the robbers," the officer said, though he refused to give further details about the robberies.

Border sources told Narinjara that there are at least two gangs of robbers operating in Maungdaw and Buthidaung Townships, as well as in the Naff River that demarcates the border between Burma and Bangladesh. Each gang is estimated to comprise 15 to 30 members, carrying automatic firearms.

In most cases, the robbers have mimicked Nasaka's tactic of checking houses during the night in order to gain access and loot homes in villages in the border townships.

Some of the victims said that the robbers who entered their homes were local Muslims, but some of those robbers surrounding the house were in Nasaka uniforms and were armed with automatic guns like Nasaka personnel.

A number of fishing boats and boats illegally crossing the border have also been robbed in the Naff River at gunpoint.

A source close to the local police said that it would not be easy for the police to nab the robbers, who have been operating in the area for a long time and have tight security covers with Nasaka forces and local army battalions, both of which wield significantly more power than the police.

It was also learnt that the gangs have been committing the robberies from bases of operation in Bangladesh, especially in hide-outs located in remote areas of Bangladesh territory.