Canadian Court orders Lankan gang boss off street

A suspected Tamil gang boss who survived two ambushes has been prevented from returning to the streets of Toronto by the Federal Court of Canada.

Jothiravi (Kannan) Sittampalam, 39, a 1992 founder of Scarborough's AK Kannan gang - named after the AK-47 assault rifle - was ordered released by an immigration and refugee board, federal court documents show.

But, officials of the Canada Border Services Agency successfully fought to have him kept in custody citing concerns he would not show up for his pending deportation and is a threat to the public.

The convicted heroin trafficker arrived in Canada as a refugee claimant in 1990 and became a permanent resident.

"Sittampalam is the son of one of the leaders of a political group in Sri Lanka," Deputy Judge Louis Tannenbaum said in his August 31 decision. "It is this connection which the police speculate has carried old hostilities to Canada." Sittampalam has a history with Toronto police dating to 1992 and has convictions for failing to comply with recognizance and obstructing police. - Sun Media