The National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed a charge sheet against 13 persons, including ten Lankans, in the India-Sri Lanka illegal drugs and arms trade case which was linked to attempts to revive the LTTE in India and its southern neighbour, NIA informed through an official release, agencies reported.
The 13 persons include notorious underworld criminal Kimbulaele Guna. The accused men had conspired with the accused in the Vizhinjam Arms case, for exploiting the illegal drugs trade in India and Sri Lanka for funding, amassing and stashing weapons for the revival of LTTE in India and Sri Lanka, the NIA said, adding that the drugs were being sourced from one Haji Salim, who is suspected to be residing in Pakistan.
The accused persons had been using various foreign WhatsApp numbers to carry out the clandestine trade, as per the official release. Investigations in the case had exposed their conspiracy to fund the revival of LTTE through drug trade. They were arrested at the Trichy Special Camp.
NIA said their investigations revealed further that the accused were using the proceeds of crime to lead a lavish life. Several mobile phones with pre-activated Indian SIM cards were seized from them, the central agency informed, adding that it also seized various digital devices, documents relating to drug transactions, cash to the tune of Rs.80 lakhs and nine gold bars during the course of its investigations.
This cash and gold were the proceeds from the sale of narcotics and were being channeled through hawala networks between Chennai and Sri Lanka, the NIA stated, adding that several transactions using Crypto platforms also came to the fore during the probe.
Earlier, on July 8, the NIA had filed the case suo motu, nabbing 13 persons. The accused were charge-sheeted on Friday under various sections of the IPC, UA(P) Act 1967, and NDPS Act. They included three Indians, identified as Selvakumar. M, Vigneshwara Perumal alias Vicky and lyyapan Nandhu alias Ayyappan Nandhu.
The remaining ten are Sri Lankans identified as C.Gunasekaran alias Guna, Pushparajah alias Pookutti Kanna, Mohammad Asmin, Alahapperumaga Sunil Ghamini Fonseka, Stanly Kennady Fernando, Dhanukka Roshan, Ladiya alias Nalin Chathuranga, Vella Suranga alias Gamage Suranga Pradeep, Thilipan alias Dileepan and Danarathnam Nilukshan.
While Vicky and Nandhu were arrested in April this year, the others were arrested in December 2022, the release added.
The group accused of smuggling arms to revive the LTTE was detained in a detention camp in Tamil Nadu and taken into custody by the Indian authorities in December last year.
Four people, including Kimbula Ele Guna, his son, Pookudikanna, were arrested while going to the airport to go from Chennai to Delhi. Athurugiriye Ladiya was arrested by the Coimbatore police during an investigation by the local police after the murder of Angoda Lokka.
Kimbulala Ele Guna has been in contact with the LTTE for a long time and is also involved in drug trafficking on a large scale. He is also a suspect in the suicide attack on the last rally of the 1999 presidential election at Town Hall of Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga. It is said that Guna gave accomodation to the bomber who came to that attack.
An underworld gangster named Bumma was a member of LTTE leader Prabhakaran’s close security team. Kota Gamini had fled to India in 2001 after killing Sunil Mendis, a former Western Provincial Council minister. Welle Suranga was a well-known criminal operating in the Modera area.