தொடரும் துரோகம்

Three captured LTTE ships being brought to Sri Lanka
First phase of govt. operation to seize Tigers’ overseas assets
Vessels expected to reach Colombo within next few days
by Norman Palihawadena

In what could be described as the third biggest blow to the LTTEsince the decimation of its leadership in the Vanni last May, followed by the arrest and ‘extraordinary rendition’ of its self-appointed leader and

chief arms procurer K. Pathmanadhan alias KP, Sri Lanka has seized three LTTE ships and is in the process of bringing them to Colombo, The Island learns.

The rogue vessels being brought to Sri Lanka by the Lankan Navy were expected to reach the Sri Lankan shores within the next two weeks, highly placed government sources said yesterday. They refused to

divulge the port of embarkation.

Information about the LTTE ships had been revealed to the security forces during the interrogation of KP arrested on August 6 from the capital of an Asian country and flown to Sri Lanka. He had provided

valuable information to the security forces on the past activities of the LTTE and the outfit’s future plans, sources said. Interpol had helped the security forces to act on information provided by KP, sources

said.

Information about local contacts of the LTTE, provided by KP, was being verified, source said.

The ships being brought to Sri Lanka under tight security are expensive craft used by the LTTE for transportation of arms, ammunition and human smuggling.

Earlier during the war, the Sri Lankan Navy destroyed 10 LTTE ships engaged in arms smuggling.

Sources said it was the first step in the Government’s endeavour to seize LTTE’s overseas assets.

"Such assets and high ranking LTTE cadres now hiding in foreign capitals will be captured soon and brought to Sri Lanka," source said.

Once Sri Lanka taken over the three ships, their agents had gone missing but Interpol was helping Sri Lanka to trace them, source said.