No confirmation of Tamil Tiger chief's arrest

A report from Sri Lanka's Defence of Ministry said that KP, one of most wanted terrorists by Interpol and has been running the global procurement network of the LTTE terrorists.

Senior Thai police and high ranking intelligence sources said that there was no arrest of KP in Thailand as reported by Sri Lanka's defence ministry.

Asian Tribune online earlier reported that KP apparently had obtained Thai citizenship.

According to the report, Pathmanadan is a noted smuggler of arms and narcotics. Operating with bank accounts opened in London, Frankfurt, Denmark, Athens and Australia and he has had a free run so far.

"If indeed KP has been arrested, it would be a big blow to the LTTE. He is one man whocan reveal the massive network of the LTTE on procurement worldwide," said Iqbal Athas, a Colombobased security expert who follows the civil war there.

"Thopugh known to be inactive, teh fact that he has reportedly surface in Thailand is significant. This is in light of military crackdown on LTTE in Sri Lanka," Athas added.

According to the Tribune, Pathmanadan is popular bases have been Rangoon, Burma, Singapore and recently Johannesburg. He moves smoothly across and he is said to be in possession of numerous passports.

His arrest will be a big breakthrough to bust the arms smuggling rackets of the Tamil Tigers. Investigations are expected to probe deep into the international network of LTTE smuggling links, LTTE procedures, money laundering and the underworld dealers who supply arms and narcotics.