London has taken steps to ban an LTTE extortionist for five year period for compelling people to pay ransoms.

The Stratford Magistrates Court in London has imposed a five year ban under an Anti Social Behaviour Order (ASBO) to Senthuraj Thavapalasingham, 20, of Romford, (nicknamed "Psycho") as the enforcer leading a gang of Tamil Tiger extortionists, known as the "East Side Boys".

According to reports from London, the alleged Thavapalasingham has leaded the gang to compel people to pay from 5,000 to 25,000 Pounds Sterling collected for the LTTE.

Counsel for the authorities James Sandham said: "This ASBO application isn't only about restricting his physical presence in the borough. The order the authorities seek is in part to do with restricting him from the borough and in part restricting him from contacting other members of the gang or any businessmen."

He added: "Whilst the individual has behaved in an anti-social way he has at all times been a member of a gang which has terrorized the residents of Newnham."

The Newnham Council and Metropolitan Police told the Magistrate that the gang is known to collect money for the LTTE.

Chief Inspector Derrick Griffiths of the Metropolitan Police has told the English media that the gang has been working in Newnham for two years. "To my knowledge there are around five Tamil gangs operating in London," he said.

The Stratford Court was told that this gang of about 30 young men aged between 15 and 32, were paid LTTE, to extort money from local businessmen and residents. Their victims were paying anywhere between œ5,000 and œ25,000 a year. In one case a businessman had paid œ25,000 a year for four years.

The catalogue of offences and anti-social activities carried out by Thavapalasingham and his gang included:

Extortion of œ2,000 from a shopkeeper, presence during an attack on a jogger who was stabbed in the leg, being armed with a samurai sword while in pursuit of a man. Police witness statements accused him of: Firearms offences, robbery, kidnap, attempted murder, grievous bodily harm and witness intimidation.

This ASBO bans the LTTE operative Thavapalasingham from entering Newnham, associating or communicating with Pratheebam Kunasekaram, Kirubananthasara Gunaratham and Kaneshan Kanagaradnam, demanding money from anyone in Newnham, unless lawfully due, congregating in public places in groups of two or more people and acting in any way to cause any person in Newnham to fear for their safety.

Thavapalasingham was also ordered to pay œ3,691.75 council costs.

Failure to comply with the order can lead upon conviction to a fine or imprisonment for up to five years or both, for an adult.

In the United Kingdom an Anti-Social Behaviour Order (ASBO) is a civil order made against a person shown to have engaged in anti-social behaviour, defined as "conduct which caused or was likely to cause alarm, harassment, or distress to one or more persons not of the same household as him or herself and where an ASBO is seen as necessary to protect relevant persons from further anti-social acts by the Defendant".