No. 3 LTTE fugitive held for arms smuggling

By Jayantha Sri Nissanka and Prssanna Fonseka

The Indonesian intelligence officers have taken into custody, the No. 3 fugitive of the Tiger arms smuggling ring, Pradeepan Thevaraja who was named in the most wanted list by Interpol.

The Anti-Terrorist Group of Indonesia nabbed Thevaraja on Thursday afternoon in Jakarta.

There were twelve passports in his possession at the time of his arrest. Passports indicated the suspect had frequently travelled in the United States, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Mayanmar and Afghanistan. Thevaraja, born on November 7, 1974, was believed to be the No. 3 in the KP department of arms smuggling of the LTTE after international fugitive Kumaran Pathmanathan, LTTE's main arms smuggler.

The Indonesian intelligence services was on his trail for the past one year. Movement reports of the suspect had been shared by the Sri Lanka Embassy in Jakarta and the State Intelligence Service of Indonesia (BIN).

Indonesian officers believe that Thevaraja had arrived in Indonesia to arrange an arms shipment to Sri Lanka. According to another report the Federal Bureau of Intelligence (FBI) has demanded the extradition of Thevaraja for questioning and further investigations.

Sri Lanka's Ambassador in Jakarta, Gen. Janaka Perera hailed the arrest as a significant breakthrough in countering the LTTE arms smuggling activities.

"I wish to thank the Indonesian Government and its state Intelligence Services," said Gen Perera.

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