Singapore man deported from US in LTTE arms plot

Tuesday, 31 December 2013 00:33 -     - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

An Indian-origin Singaporean has been deported home from the US, after he had completed a jail term for offences related to trying to buy arms worth $ 900,000 for outlawed separatist group LTTE. Balraj Naidu Ragavan, 51, returned to Singapore on 16 December after serving almost four years in a US prison, The Straits Times reported. “As a convicted felon, Naidu is prohibited from re-entering the United States,” US Customs Enforcement and Removal Field Office director Simona L. Flores, said in a statement. The businessman was extradited four years ago to face several charges in the US, including conspiring to export arms to the Tamil Tigers. In April 2006, on being introduced to a US undercover agent, Naidu negotiated to buy weapons worth $ 900,000, including grenade launchers, sniper rifles and machine guns. One of his co-conspirators, Haniffa Osman, test fired several of the weapons in the summer of 2006 in Baltimore. About 28 tons of weapons and ammunition were airlifted to the island of Guam. Haniffa, a 62-year-old Singaporean, has completed a 37-month jail sentence and testified in Naidu’s trial in 2010 before returning to Singapore. The plan had been to offload the US-made weapons in international waters off the Sri Lankan coast, so that they could be picked up by the LTTE. But the conspirators, which included two Indonesians and a Sri Lankan, were arrested after inspecting the arms and transferring a further $ 450,000.

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Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event including Valentine ’s Day. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Flower Bouquets, Clothing, Watches, Lingerie, Gift Sets and Jewellery. Also if you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.