Tamil Tiger Operative Arrested in Queens
The director of the American branch of a federally designated terrorist organization, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, was arraigned yesterday in Brooklyn on charges of masterminding a fund-raising campaign in America, federal prosecutors said.
Karunakaran Kandasamy, known as Karuna, not only led the terrorist group's American efforts to raise funds for a planned offensive against the Sri Lankan government in late 2005, but also was in charge of garnering support in the U.S. for the group's terrorist activities, according to the complaint filed in federal court.
Federal law enforcement officials arrested Karuna yesterday morning in Queens, and he is being held without bail. If convicted of the conspiracy charges, he faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, federal prosecutors said.
Hundreds of people attended fund-raising events organized by Karuna in November 2004 at a church and a public school in Queens, and a school in South Brunswick, N.J., according to the complaint.
The terrorist group, known as the Tamil Tigers, relies on cells in at least 11 countries to raise and launder money, as well as to smuggle arms, explosives, and technology into their controlled territory in Sri Lanka, according to the complaint. The goal of the terrorist organization is to establish an independent nation within Sri Lanka.
Karuna was responsible for arranging meetings in Sri Lanka between leaders of the terrorist group and its supporters in America, according to the complaint.
The American-based cell of the Tamil Tigers is based in Queens, and operates under a front organization called the World Tamil Coordinating Committee, according to the complaint.
