Military officials say never before have so many weapons been seized during one single operation from any rebel group anywhere in the country

Mr Mishra said more than 200 guerrillas of three separatist groups in Manipur, including seven of their leaders, have so far been arrested.

They includes the chairman of Manipur's largest separatist group, the United National Liberation Front (UNLF), Rajkumar Meghen.

The UNLF's General Secretary, Khaidem Hamedou, its women wing chief, Nganbi Devi, and the chairman of a smaller Manipuri separatist group, the Kangleipak Communist Party, Th.Sanachou, have also been arrested.

Mr Mishra said more than 1,600 weapons, including Chinese-made assault rifles, mortars, machine guns and rocket launchers, have been recovered from these six rebel camps.

Large quantities of gold and gems worth millions of rupees and several printing machines producing fake Indian and foreign currencies have also been recovered, he said.

Military officials say never before have so many weapons been seized during one single operation from any rebel group anywhere in the country.

Burma and India agreed this year to coordinate military operations against separatist armies operating on the nearly 1,500 kilometres of border they share.