US police bust ATM heist by LTTE gang    

[Wednesday, October 17, 2007 - 7.00 GMT]    
 

A massive plot to loot the ATMs in New York has been uncovered with the arrest of a gang of eight men linked to the LTTE. The New York Daily News in a news report yesterday (16) said “A band of men linked to Tamil Tiger terrorists - led by a Sri Lankan who used a fake passport to get security clearance at Newark Airport - has been busted in a massive plot to loot city ATMs.”

According to Manhattan prosecutors they were part of a scheme to use stolen credit card numbers to steal $250,000 in New York - and tens of millions from ATMs worldwide. Six were nabbed in January in a raid at the Chelsea Inn  and the other two, including alleged ringleader Sivapalasri Velayuthampillai, 31, of Newark was arrested in July.

"The defendant (Velayuthampillai) is part of a large, highly organized ring of international criminals who steal account and PIN numbers ... and then come to the United States to steal money from our financial institutions," Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Kim Han said in court papers. Until his arrest, Velayuthampillai worked three jobs at Newark Airport as a security agent and baggage handler with complete security clearance. Han said Velayuthampillai had 30 forged cards on him when he was arrested in midtown in July and more than 400 bogus cards in his rented car, all bearing account numbers stolen from two U.K. gas stations.