The Assam police on Monday arrested one of United Liberation Front of Asom's most-wanted leaders, Prabal Neog.

Neog was arrested in Tezpur town of Sonitpur district at noon on Monday.

The police said the ULFA battalion leader, now in his forties, was traveling with his wife and son when he walked into the trap laid by them. He was carrying a huge quantity of cash, but no arms or ammunition.

Neog was the planner and one of the key executors in the killings of Hindi-speaking people in eastern Assam districts of Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Sivasagar, Jorhat and central Assam's Karbi Anglong.

Besides planning the carnage of Hindi-speaking people, he was involved in a large number of bomb blasts and almost all major extortion operations in the state.

He was the main leader of the outfit who was controlling the entire operation of the insurgent group in eastern and central Assam at the behest of the top leaders of the outfit who have taken shelter in foreign countries like Bangladesh.

Neog had joined the outfit about two decades ago and was well trained in guerrilla operations in Myanmar, and the erstwhile Bhutan bases of the banned outfit.

A security source said that the ULFA commander might have chosen to walk into the trap laid by the police either because of his failing health or due to growing differences with the outfit's top brass.