LTTE fighter makes ‘killing’ in credit card scams and extortion

Flushed out: Bukit Aman Special Branch Counter Terrorism officers detaining the senior LTTE fighter in Kuala Lumpur.

KUALA LUMPUR: While he bided his time hiding out in Malaysia, a senior Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) fighter has been raking in hundreds of thousands of ringgit scamming and even extorting his fellow men.

It is learnt that the 37-year-old man, who was detained in the city on Aug 7, had been active in the most profitable of all scams – forging credit cards.

Sources revealed that he was part of a syndicate that cloned credit cards held by a Sri Lankan member residing in Canada. The cards were cloned multiple times.

“They would then pass the forged cards to fellow Sri Lankans heading to Malaysia. Once here, they would withdraw money using the cards,” said the source.

However, the matter did not end there. The syndicate member in Canada would make reports of “illegal” transactions carried out in Malaysia using his cards.

“Acting as if he is the victim, the man (in Canada) would lodge police reports before claiming insurance from the banks. In other words, the syndicate would rake in profits from both ends,” another source revealed.

It is believed that the senior LTTE fighter was also involved in other syndicates forging passports and even illegally obtained United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) cards.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said the man had used a social visitor pass to enter the country.

“Initial investigations showed that the suspect used Malaysia as a hideout and even extorted his fellow countrymen. We believe he was trying to amass funds to revive the LTTE movement in Sri Lanka,” he said yesterday.

The man, he said, had also admitted to being part of the credit card scam syndicate, masterminded by other foreigners.

He was detained under Section 15 (1) (C) of the Immigration Act 1959/63 for overstaying before being deported yesterday.

“Our Sri Lankan counterpart will act further on the matter,” he said.

Sources said the police chose to deport the man as they wanted to get such negative criminal elements out of the country as soon as possible.