KP Department Closed

In the clean-up after the Sri Lankan victory over the LTTE ("Tamil Tigers") terrorist separatist movement, one major issue left open was the LTTE weapons smuggling network. As it mostly existed outside Sri Lanka, getting to the players and shutting them down was known to be a hard challenge.

Well, it looks like they've run one of the worst to ground. Selvarajah Pathmanathan, better known as "KP" ("KP Department" was the LTTE name for their arms smugglers), has been arrested and transported back to Sri Lanka for interrogation.

It has been a long chase to get him, too:

Sri Lankan officials said diplomatic necessities precluded naming the exact location where he was arrested.

"It is a sensitive issue and the government wants to respect the wishes of all parties involved," a senior Sri Lankan official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

Thai authorities arrested Pathmanathan in 2007 and were ready to hand him over on condition their involvement was not known.

But he escaped after Sri Lanka publicised his arrest there, and Thailand denied he was ever in custody, diplomats with knowledge of the incident say. Earlier this year, Sri Lanka was infuriated when a European diplomat met KP in Kuala Lumpur.

Apparently, however, he had to show his face to claim leadership of the LTTE-in-exile and that led to the opportunity for the black-bag job that brought him in.