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33 Tigers arrested in Italy

ROME: Italian Police said they have arrested 33 suspected members of Sri Lanka’s Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in pre-dawn raids across the country yesterday.

Police in Naples said the suspects were picked up in 10 cities including Rome, Genoa, Bologna, Naples and Palermo at the end of a two-year investigation. Two more were being sought in Naples.

Some 200 police were involved in the operation which saw raids across the country including the island of Sicily, an official with the police counter-terrorism cell told AFP.

Police believe the suspects, all Sri Lankan citizens, extorted money from their fellow nationals in the various cities and sent it home to finance the LTTE.

Luigi Bonacura of the Naples police said the operation effectively dismantled the Tiger network in Italy.

“They had formed an organization that was arranging financial support by collecting a tax, or an extortion payment, from Sri Lankans living here,” said Palermo prosecutor Antonio Ingroia. Investigators will determine if they can also charge the collectors for extortion.

Tamil expatriates in Italy are forced to contribute money to the LTTE, Police said. The funds are taken out of Italy through Swiss banks.

The BBC’s David Willey in Rome says that police swooped at dawn in simultaneous raids on suspected Tiger hideouts in eight different cities.

Police said they have been investigating reports for the past two years that these Sri Lankans had been extorting money from fellow nationals working in Italy and sending it to Sri Lanka to finance the Tigers.

Three months ago the Italian authorities closed down an illegal Tiger propaganda TV channel operating from Italian territory.

There are an estimated 50,000 Sri Lankan immigrants working in Italy. Many arrived illegally but have since obtained work and residence permits.

The definition of terrorism in Article 270 *bis* of the Italian Penal Code has been amended by Law 155/2005, which came into force on 02nd August 2005, and includes promoting, constituting, organizing, managing or financing organizations which intend to carry out violent activities, or assisting any individual (excluding a close relative) who participates in such organizations.

Law 438 of 15 December 2001, on Urgent Measures Against International Terrorism, extended the provisions of Art. 270 of the Penal Code to cover international terrorism. Art. 270 *bis* provides for a term of imprisonment of between seven to 15 years for individuals found to promote, constitute, organize, lead or finance organizations which promote violence for terrorists ends or to upset the democratic order.

It also provides for imprisonment of five to 10 years for individuals who associate with such organizations. Art. 270 *tris* provides for imprisonment for up to 4 years for those harbouring or assisting terrorists.

The Embassy of Sri Lanka in its statement pointed out that it will coordinate with Italian authorities for further investigations.

The LTTE is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the European Union. The UK and France have already arrested key Tiger operatives and are also keeping an eye on gangs connected to the LTTE. The Tigers are known to maintain terror cells in many European countries.

The Neapolitan police team has also discovered a kind of intelligence service in the LTTE called TIG, which controls people from Sri Lanka of the Tamil ethnic group resident in Italy, holding detailed files and photos, both of supporters and non-supporters of the organisation.

Reports on Italian TV speculated that the annual amount extorted from expatriate Tamils in Italy was around four million euros (6.2 million dollars).

 

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