US charges six over weapons for LTTE

US authorities have charged six Asian men with conspiracy to export arms and ammunition to the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka and some unknown customers in Indonesia.

Among these, three have been charged additionally by federal authorities in Baltimore, Maryland, with crimes of conspiracy to provide material support and money laundering to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a designated foreign terrorist organisation.

While three of the defendants hail from Singapore, two are from Indonesia and one from Sri Lanka, authorities said.

The sourcing included for a variety of weapons including surface to air missiles, grenade launchers and machine guns.

According to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the defendants were arrested in Guam after travelling there to attempt to purchase night vision devices, sniper rifles, submachine guns with suppressors and grenade launchers to be used by the LTTE or unknown customers in Indonesia.

Four of the defendants were acting at the direction of senior Tamil Tigers leadership in Sri Lanka, US authorities said.

"The Tamil Tigers relies upon brokers and supporters throughout the world to acquire military weaponry and launder money in its attempt to violently overthrow the elected government of Sri Lanka.

"They have waged a civil war in Sri Lanka which has cost tens of thousands of lives, and often use suicide bombers. We will not allow any such terrorist organisation and its middlemen to use the US as a source of supply for weapons, technology and financial resources," US Attorney Rod Rosenstein said.

"Arming a radical organisation with more than 200 suicide bombings to its credit jeopardises the security of the United States and nations around the globe," said Julie L Myers, Assistant Secretary for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in a statement.

The investigation is continuing, authorities said.

According to officials a three count indictment has been returned on September 19, 2006, charging a national of Singapore and two citizens of Indonesia with conspiracy to export arms and munitions, conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and money laundering.

A complaint was also filed in the US territory of Guam charging Thirunavukarasu Varatharasa, a citizen of Sri Lanka, with being a member of that conspiracy as to the export of arms and munitions.

Authorities have alleged that starting in April 2006, the defendants conspired to export state-of-the-art firearms, machine guns and ammunition, surface to air missiles, night vision goggles and other items to the Tamil Tigers.

The defendants acted as brokers between manufacturers of military technology and the Tamil Tigers, requesting price quotes and negotiating the purchases.

In one instance, on May 3, 2006, undercover ICE agents were given a list of 53 military weapons by one of the defendants that including sniper rifles, machine guns and grenade launchers, that he wished to acquire for the Tamil Tigers.

Officials have said that an indictment is not a finding of guilt and that an individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.

Aside from the agents of the ICE the agencies involved in the sting operation included the FBI, the Defence Criminal Investigative Service and the Baltimore City Police.