Yangon, Sep 18 (IANS): A total of 150 people have been arrested in Myanmar in the first eight months of this year on charges of possessing arms illegally, official sources said Thursday.

Among them are 54 people charged with possessing 60 items of arms, including grenades and 2,700 bullets, in connection with 45 arms-related cases, Xinhua reported.

Under Myanmar's laws, those who possess arms illegally can be sentenced to a prison term of three to seven years.

According to statistics, in 2013, 106 people were detained on charges of possessing over 90 items of illegal arms.

Recently, the police, in a notification, urged those who hold air-guns to surrender these to the police.

The police action taken on illegal possession of arms is seen as a tightened measure in the wake of Al Qaeda's recent statement which threatened to focus its terrorist attacks on three Asian countries, namely Myanmar, Bangladesh and India.

Meanwhile, the government claimed that it has taken precautionary measures to beef up check points and monitor possible infiltration of terrorists.