More than three dozen Tamil migrants have been segregated from 492 others who arrived by boat, for questioning by police on suspicion of being linked to the LTTE, or other inadmissible groups, including war criminals, the Toronto Sun reported yesterday (31).

Those held in “segregation” at Fraser Regional Correctional Centre, in B.C., include the skipper of the MV Sun Sea, Kamalraj Kandasamy, a.k.a “Captain Vinod,” his 24-man crew and about a dozen migrants who arrived Aug. 13 off the coast of B.C. after a 90-day trip from Thailand.

Police said the suspects are being interviewed and undergoing extensive background checks by the RCMP, CSIS and Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) on suspicion of alien smuggling, being members of the LTTE or for taking part in crimes against humanity.

Police said several men were moved to a segregation unit because they were “threatening or intimidating” other migrants.

Police and intelligence officials allege Vinod, a Tamil Tigers leader, was deputy to a captain who steered a sister ship, Ocean Lady, to Canada last October with 76 migrants on board, the Toronto Sun reported.

The Sun Sea, once earlier known as the Harin Panich 19, was the subject of a maritime police alert last May when it was turned around near Australia as it headed there with 100 migrants on board.

Police allege the ship was earlier engaged in smuggling several thousand tonnes of arms, ammunition and explosives from North Korea to Sri Lanka.

Police also allege a Tigers cell in Canada organized the Sun Sea smuggling trip.