Shanmugam Kumaran Tharmalingam alias Kumaran Pathmanathan or KP, who claims to be the new leader of the LTTE after the death of V. Prabhakaran, was arrested on Wednesday and brought to Sri Lanka is now being questioned in Colombo.

It is reliably reported that he was arrested in a South East Asian country. He was on the list of wanted persons by Sri Lanka, India and Interpol nfor a range of terrorism related and other criminal activities.

He has been accused of arms smuggling and conspiring the assassinations of VVIPs including former Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi in 1991. Kumaran Pathmanathan, known as KP, was reportedly in control of billions in US dollars of LTTE funds; reportedly obtain from Sri Lankan Tamils living abroad and from other foreign donors to the LTTE’s terrorist activities. Some of these funds were extorted from Tamils living abroad.

It has been reported that KP was involved in a clash with the US based LTTE activists for LTTE assets worth billions of US dollars after LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran and other leaders were killed by the Security Forces in the Mullaitivu district and the Government declared the war on terrorism was over.

According to defense sources KP played a major role in expanding the LTTE’s sea activities and had built up contacts with key officials in different countries; he has also been closely involved with the smuggling of drugs and narcotics, gun running and human trafficking, which also provided funds for the LTTE.

The DNA, Indian News and Analysis website recently reported that…

Tug-of-war for LTTE drug cartel

Following the LTTE Leader Prabhakaran's death, a massive tug-of-war is on in the drug world to grab his multi-million dollar drug cartel. Several other gangs are looking to take over the syndicate, which has corporate-like operations, an Indian official said.

Narcotics experts believe the LTTE arranged funds for its terror activities by smuggling drugs from Sri Lanka to European and American countries. According to experts, the LTTE also supplied drugs to Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. The LTTE's drug smuggling business was worth about $200-300 million. The outfit procured most of its consignments, largely heroin, from the Golden Crescent -spread over Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan, via Indian routes.

"The LTTE had joined hands with other terrorist outfits involved in drug smuggling in neighboring countries. The Tigers got their supply from outfits that operate from PoK. So the outfits that earlier supplied drugs to the LTTE will try to spread tentacles in the market that earlier belonged to LTTE," a senior Narcotics Control Bureau official said.

In the past, customs, NCB and police officials in Chennai had seized heroin being smuggled to Sri Lanka from India. "The LTTE has always been in the drugs-for-arms business and they also supplied arms to the underworld for drugs that were then sold to the drug mafia in Europe and America", said a senior police officer.

"India is located between the Golden Crescent and Golden Triangle-covering Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, and Thailand, which are the largest producers of opium globally. There are many organized drug mafias, operating from India, who have knowledge of the vast market the LTTE catered to. They would try to take it over. Separatists, too, would try and control it to fund their activities," the DNA website reported quoting Former BSF D-G Prakash Singh.