1.8.2008
By M Rama Rao
Indian
police have claimed a major breakthrough in unraveling
the arms smuggling racket to Sri Lanka with the arrest
in Chennai of Thambianna alias Daniel (46), the chief
of LTTE procurement module and a member of the Sea Tigers.
He
landed in Rameswaram by a ferry from Northern Sri Lanka
about a month back. Tamil Nadu police trailed him ever
since he entered the state and that gave them a rich harvest
of clues.
Police
trailed Daniel just to crack his contacts before arresting
him; the Intelligence IG Jaffer Sait was quoted as telling
reporters in Chennai.
Daniel
is on the wanted list for a long while in connection with
smuggling of explosives, swimming and communication equipment
among others, according to the police officials.
'Most
of LTTE cadres arrested in Tamil Nadu have been working
under Daniel's control and he was trying to smuggle petrol
this time', said Sait, who added that Daniel is a member
of the Sea Tigers, the naval wing of the LTTE.
According
to TN police officer, this time around Daniel tried to
send a consignment from Ramanathapuram but failed. 'He
was planning alternative routes through Tanjavur and Pudukottai,
when he was nabbed.
The
past two –three years have seen a spurt in Tigers'
smuggling of ball bearings and aluminum balls besides
fuel and other equipment. As the TN police stepped up
raids and vigil, the LTTE shifted its 'dispatch' points
to Kerala coast.
Since
2006, the Tamil Nadu police have booked 55 members of
the Tigers, which is a banned outfit in India since the
assassination of Rajiv Gandhi in May 1991.
IG
Jaffer Sait ruled out any direct link of the plots to
make bomb attacks unearthed in Chennai on Sunday with
the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and Lashkar-e-Taiba
(LeT). , police said here today.
'This
specific module ( engaged in planning I-day attacks) has
no direct links with such groups', he said but said investigations
were underway to find out whether sleeper cells of SIMI
or other terrorist networks existed in the state. 'As
of now, there is no information, but investigation is
on in this direction also'.
Three
persons, Heera alias Mohammed Kasim, and Abdul Gafur were
arrested and the master mind was identified as Ali Abdullah
detained for over a year at the Puzhal prison, near Chennai.
Abdul
Gafur, an employee in a footwear firm in Chennai, revealed
the conspiracy after he was arrested from Pettai in Tirunelveli,
following which Heera alias Mohammed Kasim were held.
And the trail led the police to the prison cell of Ali
Abdullah.
TN
Police on Thursday found 25 cans of a chemical meant for
being smuggled to Sri Lanka buried among the bushes at
Durgah Valasai near Rameswaram. The chemical has since
been sent for lab tests.
Courtesy - Asian
Tribune