In an interview with the National Post, Canadian Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said his officials had advised him that the LTTE was behind the operation, which he said was driven by profit motives.

“There’s a tremendous amount of money to be made,” the minister said.

The smugglers had refitted the 59-metre cargo ship to maximize their profits, he said. For example, he said a sanitation system had been installed to accommodate a large number of people for a lengthy voyage.

“So the evidence that I’ve been provided with at this point shows that it’s a sophisticated operation that has deliberately taken advantage of our system.” He said this was not a case of “people jumping on the first cargo ship that happened to come by.”

Rather, it was a deliberate attempt to make money by cramming as many people as possible onto a small ship, he said.

“All I can say is that it is clear that this is the product of the efforts of an organized criminal enterprise", the Canadian Minister said.
Asked who was behind it, he said, “The evidence presented to me suggests that it’s elements of the Tamil Tigers or LTTE.”

Since the defeat of LTTE last year there have been allegations the outlawed outfit is trying to rebuild and the profits earned from human smuggling are part of a strategy to prepare for another round of fighting.

The minister said there was no truth to reports the ship had originally intended to travel to Australia but had changed course after Canberra made it clear they were not welcome.
He said the ship’s destination has always been Canada.