7 ethnic Mizos detained in US

Seven Myanmar nationals, all ethnic Mizos, are languishing in a US jail pending further trial. They were arrested in July on the charge of entering the US illegally from Mexico by taxi. A US court has remanded them to judicial custody.

Sources said, the arrested persons were part of a 15-member Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) delegation from Mizoram, which attended the YMCA World Council Meeting at Oaxtapec in Mexico during July 15-20, 2002. Zohmangaiha, a former Indian Revenue Service officer and present president of the North East India YMCA was the leader of the delegation.

The sources alleged Zohmangaiha selected the Myanmar nationals without intimating other leaders of the YMCA and collected Rs two lakh from each of them.