Key LTTE funding handler arrested

A key member of the LTTE's international finance wing has been arrested by Sri Lankan police after he arrived in Colombo from Geneva to look into the businesses once owned by the Tamil Tigers.

He was arrested recently from a house at Dehiwela area in Colombo suburbs where he was hiding, state-owned Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) radio reported on Tuesday, without identifying him.

The captured Tiger rebel had arrived in the country on January 10 from Geneva in Switzerland, said the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which made the arrest.

All activities of the LTTE in Sri Lanka were dismantled following the killing of Tiger supreme Velupillai Prabhakaran during the war with security forces last year.

The main objective of the suspect's visit to Colombo was to "look into" the businesses that were owned by the LTTE, the SLBC said.

The Tiger rebel had obtained a passport and visa after producing false information to the immigration and emigration controllers, the radio reported.

Although Sri Lankan security forces have eliminated the top-ranking members of the LTTE in the country, the remnants of the group are believed to be still functioning in some western and other countries.

Sri Lanka arrested the LTTE's main arms procurer Kumaran Pathmanathan alias KP in August last year in a south Asian nation, which was not identified, and brought him to Colombo. He revealed valuable information about the international finances and operations of the outfit.

Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said the legal action with regard to KP is still being considered, the government website reported on Tuesday, citing his interview with an online newspaper.

KP was the leader of the LTTE international wing and had been controlling the activities of the organisation after the death of Prabhakaran.

So far, much information on LTTE international activities and businesses had been obtained from KP, Rajapaksa said.

He said measures have to be taken to destroy the LTTE international network and freeze its assets, but quick legal action could undermine these moves.

LTTE has invested in countries that never expected any of its activities on their soil, the website said. The Defence Secretary said activities of LTTE will be brought to a close with the cooperation of those countries, it reported.