Karunakaran Kandasamy was arrested by the FBI's Joint Terrorist Task Force in Queens on federal charges of providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, prosecutors said. As head of the American branch of the Tamil Tigers, Kandasamy allegedly oversees and directs the group's activities in the United States, including fundraising.
April 25, 2007
@ 2007 NBC
NEW YORK -- The director of the American branch of the Tamil Tigers, a Sri Lanka-based terrorist group, was arrested late Tuesday in Queens on federal charges of providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, prosecutors said.
Karunakaran Kandasamy was arrested by the FBI's Joint Terrorist Task Force.
Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Roslynn R. Mauskopf said that as head of the American branch of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (Tamil Tigers), Kandasamy allegedly oversees and directs the group's activities in the United States, including fundraising.
He allegedly held fundraising events in November and December 2004 at a church and a public high school in Queens and at a school in South Brunswick, N.J., authorities said. He was also allegedly responsible for arranging meetings in Sri Lanka between leaders of the Tamil Tigers and supporters from the United States, according to officials.
According to court papers, the Tamil Tigers organization was founded in 1976 and relies on acts of terrorism, including suicide bombings and political assassinations, to achieve its goal of an independent Tamil state in northern Sri Lanka. The Black Tiger squad of the Tamil Tigers is responsible for the assassinations of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991 and Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa in 1993.
"Kandasamy hasn't merely supported the Tamil Tigers' cause, he orchestrated U.S. support," said Assistant FBI Director Mark Mershon. "We can no sooner allow terrorists to raise funds here than we would allow them to carry out acts of terrorism here."
Eleven others have been previously indicted in Brooklyn federal court on material support charges involving the attempted purchase of military equipment, including surface-to-air missiles from an undercover FBI Agent and the attempted bribery of a purported U.S. State Department official to remove the Tamil Tigers from the foreign terrorist organization list.
Kandasamy could face 15 years in jail if convicted.
April 25, 2007
@ 2007 NBC
NEW YORK -- The director of the American branch of the Tamil Tigers, a Sri Lanka-based terrorist group, was arrested late Tuesday in Queens on federal charges of providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, prosecutors said.
Karunakaran Kandasamy was arrested by the FBI's Joint Terrorist Task Force.
Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Roslynn R. Mauskopf said that as head of the American branch of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (Tamil Tigers), Kandasamy allegedly oversees and directs the group's activities in the United States, including fundraising.
He allegedly held fundraising events in November and December 2004 at a church and a public high school in Queens and at a school in South Brunswick, N.J., authorities said. He was also allegedly responsible for arranging meetings in Sri Lanka between leaders of the Tamil Tigers and supporters from the United States, according to officials.
According to court papers, the Tamil Tigers organization was founded in 1976 and relies on acts of terrorism, including suicide bombings and political assassinations, to achieve its goal of an independent Tamil state in northern Sri Lanka. The Black Tiger squad of the Tamil Tigers is responsible for the assassinations of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991 and Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa in 1993.
"Kandasamy hasn't merely supported the Tamil Tigers' cause, he orchestrated U.S. support," said Assistant FBI Director Mark Mershon. "We can no sooner allow terrorists to raise funds here than we would allow them to carry out acts of terrorism here."
Eleven others have been previously indicted in Brooklyn federal court on material support charges involving the attempted purchase of military equipment, including surface-to-air missiles from an undercover FBI Agent and the attempted bribery of a purported U.S. State Department official to remove the Tamil Tigers from the foreign terrorist organization list.
Kandasamy could face 15 years in jail if convicted.
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