Fake credit card ring leader nabbed

Bangalore police have stumbled upon an interesting link after the Saturday arrest of suspected LTTE men in Mangalore.

The supplier of fake credit cards to the suspected criminals and the one involved in the credit card racket unearthed in Bangalore last year is the same person.

Kumar alias Chennai Kumar supplied these cards to the suspected LTTE men - Bala Reuben and Nalla Tambi Jayasheelan.

Bangalore police suspects he could have distributed fake credit cards to his men in Bangalore too.

The Chandra Layout police cracked a huge credit card fraud in June 2007. Three men were arrested for swiping cards belonging to unknown persons from abroad. the three arrested - Srigandhpal, Sai Prakash and Nagaraj - had revealed only one name - Kumar.

There are other connections too. In the Chandra Layout case, several credit cards of international banks were used. The two Lankans also possessed seven cards of such MNC banks.

"Four of the 11 credit cards seized from the duo are issued by ICICI Bank and Indian Bank. However, all the other cards are of different international banks. The accused know nothing about the bank. All they know is that someone called Kumar supplied them.

We are still trying to contact those banks," a police officer said. Investigation into the Chandra Layout case has not moved further because of the lack of information about Kumar.

Srigandhpal had met Kumar several times in Bangalore. "Kumar and his close associate Muruga came often to Bangalore. During those visits, Kumar distributed credit cards to them. He would get in touch with his associates to collect his share once the credit cards were swiped and the booty made.

He would give them a share in the profit and disappear with the rest of the money. There is no trace of Kumar and his whereabouts are not known," a senior police officer said.

According to the Lankans arrested in Mangalore, Kumar is a major LTTE operative and a citizen of Australia. He is suspected to have brought in many LTTE operatives from Jaffna and surrounding areas to Bangalore.

Bala Reuben from Vavuniya and Jayasheelan from Jaffna have been remanded to police custody. A team of officials from Bangalore is questioning them.