LTTE conspirator sentenced to 57 months by Maryland Judge

[Friday, January 11, 2008 - 9.35 GMT]   

A US District Court has sentenced a Sri Lankan to 57 months in prison and three years of supervised release for conspiracy to provide arms, ammunition and other military materiel to the LTTE.

The sentence was imposed on Thirunavukarasu Varatharasa, a Sri Lankan resident in the USA, by US District Judge Catherine C. Blake, Baltimore, Maryland yesterday (January 10).

US Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein announced that Thirunavukarasu Varatharasa has been sentenced to 57 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release for conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization and attempted exportation of arms and munitions.

Varatharasa will be deported from the United States after serving his sentence of incarceration.

Mr. Rosenstein said, “We are using undercover operations targeting people who attempt to obtain military weapons in violation of American law and all other available legal tools to prevent terrorism."

Missiles too

According to his plea agreement, from April to September 29, 2006 Varatharasa conspired with Haji Subandi, Haniffa Osman and Erick Wotulo to export state-of-the-art firearms, machine guns and ammunition, surface to air missiles, night vision goggles and other military weapons to the LTTE to be used to fight against Sri Lankan government forces. The conspirators contacted an undercover business located in Maryland about the sale of military weapons. The defendants aided in the acquisition and proposed delivery of military technology to the Tamil Tigers by requesting price quotes and negotiating the purchases. Subandi sent an itemized list of 53 military weapons, including sniper rifles, machine guns and grenade launchers that he wanted to acquire for the LTTE.

According Department of Justice, Maryland on September 25, 2006 Varatharasa and Osman arrived in Saipan to meet with undercover officers and inspect the weaponry that had been ordered on behalf of the Tamil Tigers. They were transported to Guam where, the next day, Varatharasa and Osman inspected various machine guns, sniper rifles and ammunition. They also inspected two surface to air missiles and agreed to communicate to others within the Tamil Tigers regarding the availability and pricing of the missiles. After the inspection was completed, Varatharasa and Osman agreed to arrange for the transfer of money into an undercover bank account in Maryland as payment for the arms and munitions. Varatharasa also purchased food and provisions for his trip from Guam to deliver the weaponry to the Tamil Tigers at a location in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Sri Lanka.

Haji Subandi, an Indonesian was sentenced on December 14, 2007 to 37 months in prison for conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, money laundering and attempted exportation of arms and munitions.

Erick Wotulo, a retired Indonesian Marine Corps General, and Haniffa Bin Osman, a citizen of the Republic of Singapore, both pleaded guilty and face a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison for conspiracy to provide material support and 20 years in prison for money laundering. Their sentencings have not yet been scheduled.

The U.S. Department of State designated the LTTE as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in 1997. As such, the LTTE cannot legally raise money or procure operational equipment in the United States.