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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