Tigers’ credit card scams flourishing in UK

Glen Jenvey

Uk: Banned terrorist group behind a wave of muggins, credit card frauds and drug pushing is flourishing in Britain because the authorities are ignoring it.

The Tigers - infamous for pioneering suicide bombs - are taking hold in the UK while the Government focuses on Islamic extremists, a worrying investigation has found.

There are also fears that the terrorist group from Sri Lanka, known to have links internationally with Al Qaeda, may carry out attacks for Osama bin Laden’s outfit in the UK as “hired suicide bombers”.

My probe has also sensationally discovered that top politicians, including leading Lib Dem MP Simon Hughes, have turned out at meetings to support fronts for the group.

The Sri Lankan government is so worried about the growth of the Tigers in Britain that it granted me an exclusive interview at its High Commission in London during my investigation.

A spokesman there said: “We are told by the Home Office and the Serious Organised Crime Agency (the UK’s FBI) that they are aware of the problems but that they do not have the resources.

“They say all their time and money is put into the Islamic terrorist groups because that is deemed the priority. But the fact remains that a terrorist group is a terrorist group.” The scenario echoes the early ‘90s when security services focused on the IRA and turned a blind eye to Islamic terrorists - allowing groups like Al Qaeda to take hold.

Security experts now fear the same thing is happening again. The LTTE was banned in the UK in 2001 under the Terrorism Act 2000. This means it is illegal to be a member of the Tigers, to support them or raise money for them. The group also banned by the USA, Canada and the EU.

Officially known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the Tigers want independence for Tamils in Sri Lanka. But rather than using democratic means they use terrorism - and to fund it they are using Britain as a “cash cow”.

They coerce some of the 150,000 law-abiding Tamils who have moved to the UK in the last two decades to pay money to the terrorist outfit - known as “war taxes”.

If they do not they - or their family back home in Sri Lanka - face being attacked or even killed. They are easy to find in the phone book because of their distinctive names.

But the Tigers also use a vast network of organised crime in the UK to raise millions of pound. It leaves hundreds of thousands of Brits as the victims of violent muggins and frauds, and floods our streets with cheap drugs.

One of the most common is credit card fraud at shops and petrol garages. Many are owned and run by Tamil immigrants under the control of LTTE representatives who loan the money to set up businesses when they enter the UK.

The Sri Lankan spokesman explained: “There is a big catch to this seemingly generous offer. The Tigers expect the staff at the garages and shops to get involved in credit card frauds. So, when you pay by card or use cash machines your details are cloned.

“Soon after someone in Sri Lanka or elsewhere in the world has withdrawn a large amount of money from your account. The real shopkeeper is not directly involved but is obliged to provide the details.”

One recent case out of hundreds occurred in a Jet garage in Hull in east Yorkshire. Thousands of customers using the forecourt cash point fell victim to the scam, according to Detective Inspector Paul Welton of Humberside Police.

Crooks linked to the Tigers began cloning cards in early November and then took cash out at machines in nine countries around the world including Thailand and Germany.

Det Ins Welton said: “The initial lines of inquiry suggest a Sri Lankan connection and we are aware of this type of crime being one of the main ways of funding the Tamil Tigers.” Tamil street gangs are also behind violent street robberies in London, according to Metropolitan Police officers. And the LTTE uses humans as drugs mules to bring in vast amounts of Class A drugs into the UK and USA resulting in cheap drugs pushed to kids.

More worrying in the long term are the links of the LTTE and Al Qaeda. Intelligence reports unearthed by my probe link the Tigers to Al Qaeda - and there are fears from intelligence officers that they might work together with Osama bin Laden’s outfit on future attacks.

The respected International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), which researches military power, outlines the LTTE’s “possible commercial link with Al Qaeda” in its 2007 report.

In layman’s terms this means the two outfits’ work together raising money through their organized crime and trafficking networks - the main way terrorists raise cash.

And according to intelligence experts, it also raises the worrying prospect of Al Qaeda using the Tigers to attack Britain in exchange for money.

The Sri Lankan High Commission spokesman said: “The LTTE will not attack the UK for political reasons. If they did the British Government might then get tough on them and make it harder for them use Britain as a cash cow.

“But groups like Al Qaeda - who want to attack Britain - will use the Tigers. There is no ideological link but money talks - and the Tigers main concern is raising money for its fight in Sri Lanka.

“Tiger soldiers are attractive to use because they are well trained soldiers who know how to operate a suicide kit. It is not like taking a novice. Also, Tiger soldiers can slip under the net because they are not being monitored by UK intelligence agencies.”

An earlier link between the two groups was in the early ‘90s when the LTTE provided forged passports to Ramzi Yousef, the man who carried out the first attack on the World Trade Centre in New York in 1993.

At a talk at the IISS in London this year, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama said: “In fact there is evidence that the LTTE established linkages with the Mujahiddins in Afghanistan as far back as 1987.

“There is further proof to establish that even in 2001 an LTTE delegation travelled to Kabul shortly before 9/11.” He also made a plea for the British Government to crack down on the activities of the LTTE and its fronts in the UK.

The Tigers have a number of fund-raising days in Britain during the year - which Tamils must go to whether or not they support the LTTE. These are arranged by front organisations like the British Tamil Association and the Tamil Youth Organisation.

One is Heroes Day in November when they commemorate their terrorist fighters killed in battle and the other is Black July day when they hold rallies to remember riots in 1983.

Footage of last year’s Black July day, I have seen, shows there was a cardboard cut out of the LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.

He is in hiding after being sentenced to death for his involvement in the assassination of Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Ghandi in 1991 and is wanted by Interpol.

The High Commission spokesman said: “It is effectively the same as having a picture of Osama bin Laden on stage. This man is the ringleader of years of terrorist attacks.” The Tigers have also been dubbed the Terrorist Pioneers - they used the modern-day suicide attack long before other groups and since then their operations have been copied by Al Qaeda.

For example, they attacked the World Trade Centre in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo. And four years later Al Qaeda was behind the 9/11 atrocities on the New York World Trade Centre.

During my investigations I also discovered the lengths the LTTE will go to in a bid to get access to foreign governments.

A UK doctor was involved in a Tigers bid to bribe top US officials more than Sterling Pound 500,000 to remove the terrorist group from a banned list.

Murugesu Vinayagamoorthy, 57, was caught in an FBI sting and is in jail in New York awaiting trial for bribery and money laundering.

He and his wife are NHS GPs with the Enfield Primary Care Trust. They live in a large refurbished house with a swimming pool in north London. They have at least three cars, including a Mercedes, a Porsche and a Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit.

The Tigers are also accused of using the Islamic radicals’ tactic of taking over religious temples in the UK to control Tamils. By taking control of the finances they are also able to siphon off more money for terrorist activities.

This practice is highlighted in a report by Human Rights Watch group and the Sri Lankan High Commission spokesman said: “Most Sri Lankan Hindu temples are controlled by Tigers.”

The Tigers have hit the headlines again in recent weeks after they launched an air strike - thought to be the first time an insurgency outfit has developed its own air force. It is part of their “final war” which is being funded by crime in the UK.

Who are the Tamil Tigers? The Tamil Tigers want a separate homeland for Tamils in the north and east of Sri Lanka.

They began a military battle in 1983 and since then 64,000 have been killed.

Tamils are the largest ethnic minority in Sri Lanka.

Tamils began migrating to Britain in large numbers in the early ‘80s when the fighting began. In Britain, there are now around 150,000 Tamils, mostly in north London.

A ceasefire between the Tigers and Sri Lankns in 2002 soon ended.

The Tigers began a fresh fund raising campaign in 2005 for the “final war”.

The Tigers have their own shipping line and last month launched their first air strike.

Simon Hughes and the Tamil Tigers Leading Liberal Democrat MP Simon Hughes have shared the stage with representatives of the banned terrorist group the Tamil Tigers, I can today reveal.

I have uncovered footage of the MP sharing the stage with a LTTE leader who has now been arrested. Mr. Hughes is currently the Lib Dem shadow Attorney General and president of the party. He has twice stood as a candidate for leader of the party.

Other politicians are also involved with the LTTE. Another Lib Dem - Eliza Mann, deputy mayor of Southwark - organized last year’s Black July rally in Hyde Park.

Thaya Idaikkadar, a Labour councillor in Harrow who is likely to stand as an MP at the next General Election, spoke at the Black July rally.

He has been quoted as saying: “I may have certain sympathies with them (the LTTE) but there is no direct link. I would support cracking down on funding for the LTTE in the UK but only if other governments also stop supporting the Sri Lankan government.” Both shared the stage with a banner depicting the LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.

Asian Tribune