Tuesday, August 22 2006 14:56 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Washington: Eight persons have been charged with multiple crimes, including conspiring to bribe US public officials to remove Sri Lanka's Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) from the US State Department's list of Foreign Terrorist Organisations.

Arrested by FBI on Long Island, New York over the weekend, four of them have been accused of trying to purchase from an undercover agent Russian-made SA-18 surface-to-air missiles, missile launchers, AK-47s and other weapons to be used by the LTTE in its rapidly escalating conflict against the Sri Lankan military.

Four others are charged with providing material support to the LTTE that included the procurement of military equipment and dual use technology, fund raising and money laundering through "front" charitable organisations and US bank accounts, according to the US Justice Department.

Two complaints made Monday before US District Court in Brooklyn also charge that the accused attempted to obtain classified information, conspired to bribe US public officials in an effort to remove the LTTE from the US State Department's list of Foreign Terrorist Organisations, and dealt in illegal financial transactions with LTTE.

According to the complaints, the LTTE founded in 1976 has conducted approximately 200 suicide bombings, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of victims, and carried out numerous political assassinations, including the May 1991 assassination of former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.

As alleged in both complaints, the accused are closely connected with LTTE leadership in Sri Lanka, and many of them have personally met with LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran and other senior leaders of the terrorist group.

If convicted, the accused face maximum sentences of 15 years for conspiracy to provide material support to a designated terrorist organisation, 10 years for dealing in property of a specially designated terrorist, and five years for conspiracy to bribe public officials.

"The multi-faceted scheme by members and supporters of the Sri Lankan organisation known as the Tamil Tigers demonstrates the need for continued vigilance in the global war against terrorists," said Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales.

"These defendants allegedly sought to obtain, through a variety of means, weapons and materials to carry out a deadly campaign of violence. We will use every tool in our power to disrupt the activities of those who seek to harm others, both here and abroad," he said.

"As charged, for more than 15 years, the LTTE has waged a war of terror, assassinations, and suicide bombings in Sri Lanka and elsewhere," stated US Attorney Roslynn R. Mauskopf.

"We refuse to allow the LTTE and its supporters to use the US as a source of supply for weapons, technology, and financial resources." She said. Mauskopf added that the investigation is continuing.

"Arrests of high level Tamil Tiger financiers and operatives are a clear example of the FBI's ability to combine long term, complex intelligence gathering, terrorism prevention, and law enforcement," stated Leslie G. Wiser Jr., FBI Special Agent-in-Charge, Newark Field Office.

"This weekend's operation has severely impaired the Tamil Tigers' ability to acquire funding and weapons for their ongoing terror operations in Sri Lanka," he said.