The ‘Q’ branch police of the Tamil Nadu Police on Tuesday arrested a 23-year-old Sri Lankan Tamil for helping the LTTE smuggle goods from Tamil Nadu, Times of India said.

Dileepan, a native from Jaffna was arrested from Red Hills and three satellite phones which he had brought from Switzerland were recovered from him. He landed in the police net after sleuths traced the calls he made to an LTTE organiser, Antony, who was under police detention

Tamil Nadu Police arrested Antony on Sunday from Madambakkam near Tambaram. The police team recovered eight pieces of GPS equipment, three satellite phones, two cell phone repeaters and 500 kg of ammonium nitrate from his house and also from his friend’s house in Acharapakkam.

Dileepan, who left for Switzerland at the age 17, had been living in that country. He was working in a bakery there, where he got friendly with a person called Rome alias Johnson, police said. Johnson gave him three satellite phones and asked him to pass them on to a person called Ameer Antony in Chennai. Johnson, police said, has been a procurement agent for the LTTE.

Dileepan, who did not know that Antony has been in police detention since Sunday, tried to reach him on his mobile phone. Officers tracked down the call and arrested Dileepan.

Police sources said LTTE has some agents active in Switzerland through whom it was procuring electronic goods, which are first brought to Chennai. The goods are then taken to Sri Lanka by fishing boats from coastal hamlets.