SRI LANKA SEIZES LTTE ARMS SMUGGLING SHIP

By P. Vijian

NEW DELHI, Dec 22 (Bernama) -- The Sri Lanka Navy has seized the largest
floating arms warehouse -- MV Princess Chrisanta -- of the Liberation Tigers of
Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the country's defence ministry said.

The ministry said in a statement that the navy escorted the ship to Colombo
Port today but it did not reveal where the ship was detained.

"The ship is 89 metres in length and it has been utilised for arms smuggling
and human trafficking during the period of war. Intelligence agencies have
assisted immensely in this regard," added the statement.

The ship, operated by the LTTE, was suspected to have been used to smuggle
arms during the height of the civil war in that country.

The government said all the assets seized from the defeated armed group
would be used for the development of the nation as they belonged to the people
of the country.

Last May, the Sri Lanka army fought a bloody war to defeat the LTTE, the
once feared militant group in the world, to end the long-running civil war in
the region, which lasted for almost a quarter of a century.

According to reports, former LTTE arms dealer K. Pathmanathan, or better
known as KP, captured last August, disclosed the whereabouts of the ship.

The LTTE had been fighting against the government for a separate homeland
for the minority Tamil population in Sri Lanka's north.

At least 80,000 people, from both sides, had been killed in the protracted
civil conflict.

-- BERNAMA