|
|
| US charges six with shipping SAM missiles to LTTE |
|
|
 (LeN-Sep 30, 11.00pm)US authorities said Friday they had charged six Asian men with conspiracy to ship arms, including SAM missiles, submachine guns and sniper rifles, to Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers and unnamed customers in Indonesia.
The men, arrested in Guam, are accused of acting as brokers between weapons manufacturers and the Tigers, which is designated as a foreign terrorist organisation by the US government.
"We will not allow any such terrorist organisation and its middlemen to use the United States as a source of supply for weapons, technology and financial resources," said US Attorney Rod Rosenstein.
Those charged were Haniffa bin Osman, 55, of Singapore; Erick Wotulo, 60 and Haji Subandi, 69 of Indonesia; Thirunavukarasu Varatharasa, 36 of Sri Lanka; Reinhard Rusli, 34 and Helmi Soedirdja of Indonesia.
The indictment alleges that the first four defendents conspired to ship state of the art firearms and military equipment to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
In May, 2006, the complaint alleges that Subandi sent repeated requests to undercover customs and immigration agents for a host of weaponary, including special forces weapons, helicopter spare parts and sonar technology.
Subandi also fired off a list of 53 military weapons, including SAM missiles machine guns and sniper rifles the Tigers wanted to acquire, the US Justice Department said.
According to officials, the men were snared by a sting operation in which undercover agents posed as arms brokers.
If found guilty of conspiracy to export arms and munitions and of providing material support to a foreign terrorist group, the defendants face various sentences of up to 20 years in prison and half million dollar fines. Other defendants were accused of trying to set up meetings with undercover agents and discussing how weapons would be shipped from Guam to a destination in the Indian Ocean. In the alleged Indonesian plot, Rusli and Soedirdja were accused of acting as brokers to ship military equipment to unnamed individuals and entities in Indonesia.
The six defendants had an initial appearance in court in Guam on Friday, and will be transferred to federal custody in Baltimore, Maryland
Meanwhile The LTTE have denied that they tried to buy arms from US dealers. LTTE military spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan said that the organisation had 'nothing to do' with the men arrested in the US on charges of conspiring to buy missiles.
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
Although you recieve this free news service, LeN bears expenditure.
If you are satisfied with this, contribute your donation. |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
