Fake passport racket in Tamil Nadu found linked to LTTE

COLOMBO (News 1st); Three arrests which were carried out in Tamil Nadu over fake passports in October 2021 have put central agencies, including the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on alert, reports India Today.

Accordingly, an investigation by Tamil Nadu police revealed the involvement of active Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) cadres behind the fake passport racket.

In Chennai, Tamil Nadu Police ‘Q’ branch has arrested Letchumanan Mary Franciska in October 2021, and later, another Sri Lankan national was arrested by Tamil Nadu Police in Madurai airport while boarding a Sri Lankan Airlines flight with a fake Indian passport.

Meanwhile, another man was arrested at Trichy airport after his Spanish passport was found to be fake. All these arrests by state Police have kept the central agencies on high alert.

On January 18, the NIA, which is the premier Indian central agency, registered a case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Passports Act, Foreigners Amendment Act and relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

They have taken up the investigation into the fake passport racket.

The agency investigated the use of fake Indian identities and Indian passports to withdraw money from several banks.

It is alleged that the fake passports and forged documents were used to withdraw money from the Indian Overseas Bank, Mumbai Fort branch for the terror activity of the LTTE.

The NIA took over the case from Tamil Nadu Police based on the Ministry of Home Affairs orders and launched an investigation against five accused suspects.

This is the second case where the NIA was brought in to look into the activity of the LTTE in India.

Earlier, former intelligence chief of LTTE, 47-year-old Satakunam alias Sabesan was arrested by the NIA from Chennai for alleged smuggling of arms and drugs from Pakistan to Sri Lanka.

Two other Sri Lankan Nationals, identified as 35-year-old Chinnasuresh and 25-year-old Soundarajan were also arrested along with Satakunam.

They were also investigated by NIA in the Kerala Vizhinjam arms recovery case, where the Indian Coast Guard arrested six Sri Lankan nationals off Minicoy Coast near Lakshadweep in March 2021. The coast guard recovered five Ak-47 rifles, 1,000 bullet rounds and 300 kg of heroin.