- Kumaravelu Vignarajah
An ethnic
Tamil , Kumaravelu Vignarajah (also "Nishanthan" to theLiberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE or Tamil Tigers), "Chandran" to Sri Lankan military intelligenceJansz, Frederica.Sunday Leader , "Another scandal in the army", February 4 2001] ) was arrested on eight charges while living in Canada, accused of infiltrating theRoyal Canadian Mounted Police while fundraising for the Tamil Tigers. It was discovered he was passing Sri Lankan military secrets to the Canadians, and classified information from both Canada and Sri Lanka to the militant group. [Schneider, Howard.Washington Post , " [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/canada/stories/refugees080997.htm Canada Imports Trouble with Refugees] , August 9 1997]Life
A native of Avrankal Sri Lanka, where his "very rich" father ran a
coconut plantation, He was recruited as a spy for the Sri Lankan military intelligence as early as 1982, and worked for the government forces as a spy under Lt. Col.Sunil Tennakoon . He also maintained a job at theBank of Ceylon .On January 9 1985, Sri Lankan forces conducted a raid in Vignarajah's hometown, killing a deputy leader of the Tigers, ostensibly after he confirmed information from a captured Tiger that suggested the deputy's presence.
By 1986, he was a trusted friend of
Gopalaswamy Mahendrarajah , a commander of Tiger forces. In the autumn of 1987, Vignarajah was photographed during an assault against anIndian Peace Keeping Force platoon, and his photograph was published on the cover of the November edition of "India Today ". He later took a journalist from the magazine to meetThenmuli Rajaratnam , a militant who later made headlines for assassinatingRajiv Gandhi .In 1998 he left his job at the bank, and the following year told his government handlers that
Velupillai Prabhakaran had begun to suspect he might be a spy, and thus requested their assistance fleeing the country, immigrating to Canada.In Canada
When Vignarajah sought to immigrate to Canada in 1994, Tennakoon wrote a series of
reference letter s vouching for his military and intelligence service to Canadian authorities, and he was subsequently hired as awiretap translator for theRoyal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).Kaihla, Paul.Maclean's , "Immigrant Terrorist Scam", August 5 1996] Tenakoon kept in touch with Vignarajah after he moved, writing letters to his Ottawa address.He applied for, and was granted,
landed immigrant status in Canada under his real name after he told immigration authorities he faced persecutions from both the government and the Tigers, stating that he wanted to pursue "the peaceful life" in Canada; and though theCanadian Security Intelligence Service is alleged to have known about his history with the Tamil Tigers, it is believed they didn't inform the RCMP as they wanted to capitalise on his information. He settled inToronto , where the vast majority of Canada's Tamil population had settled following the 1980s flood of refugees fromSinhalese violence.Vignarajah worked at the
Bank of Nova Scotia in Canada, while also employed by the RCMP; allegedly giving Canadians inside information on the Tigers, while also giving the Tigers information on the Canadians.Tennakoon sent Vignarajah a series of letters, reminding him of the notes he had written to Canadian officials on his behalf and seeking assurance that the favours would be returned. He also asked Vignarajah whether he could bring back gifts for his family, including a washing machine, and a doll for his daughter, and a pair of "cheap"
Timex watches and someCD s ofMichael Jackson for his two sons.Arrest
On May 9 1996, police surrounded the bank where Vignarajah had been nominated as top employee, and arrested him on the basis he was a commander of the Tamil Tigers. A search of his house yielded a 1986 edition of the
Shooter's Bible , recordings and transcripts of RCMP wiretaps into local Tamil residents, equipment believed to have been taken from the RCMP, and a copy of his resume on which he claimed to be an employee of "the RCMP Central Government Secret Intelligence Service".References
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