A group of LTTE cadres were arrested while staying in the Chilaw estuary while preparing to leave for Canada in a trawler in search of employment.
One of the LTTE cadres is said to be a strongman of an organization that sends Tamils abroad for employment and has been uncovered by state intelligence officers.
Officers of the North Western Naval Command of the Sri Lanka Navy arrested 16 men, 4 women and a child along with a van while they were waiting near the Chilaw estuary on the morning of the 9th and handed them over to the Chilaw Police for further investigations.
The suspects were residents of Wattala, Kilinochchi, Jaffna and a trawler operator from Nainamadama, Wennappuwa.
Later, state intelligence officers conducted an extensive investigation into the incident and it was revealed that two of the arrested persons were LTTE cadres. It has been revealed that one of them is a resident of Wattala and that he had previously lived in Rattota, Matale.
The LTTE has identified him as Kanna, who was also involved in the Habarana Digampathana massacre and was involved in a number of massacres carried out by the LTTE on several occasions.
It has been revealed that he went to Malaysia in 2008 and returned to the island in 2014 and later he was a leader of a racket that illegally sends Sri Lankan Tamils abroad.
The detainees were taken in two small boats from Udappuwa to the sea and loaded on a trawler, which then set sail for Indian waters. The trooper carrying the convoy returned to the island It is said that it has been revealed that the group had been brought ashore in two small boats halfway across the sea.
The trawler used to transport the arrested persons has also been taken into custody and it has been registered with the Fisheries Department in the name of a minor girl residing in the Nainamadama area in Wennappuwa and its operator (skipper) has been identified as a relative of that girl.
The Navy State Intelligence Unit and the Chilaw Police are conducting further investigations into the incident.
