Tiruchirapalli (Tamil Nadu) July 20 (Bureau) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday carried out searches at the ‘Special Camp’ housing foreign nationals, mostly Sri Lankans inside the Tiruchirapalli Central Prison campus. Police sources said the NIA team led by Superintendent of Police G Dharmarajan were conducting inquiries with some of the inmates. The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were deployed in and around the camp for security as the search was going on. The searches follows specific inputs involving few Sri Lankan nationals, who were arrested and detained in the camp in connection with the Vizhinjam (Kerala) arms and drugs smuggling case.
Besides, the anti-terror agency have been inquiring the international links, source, supply and transportation route of the drug cartel of Sri Lanka, which was suspected to be raising funds to revive the defunct Tamil separatist organisation, the LTTE. The high-security Special Camp, administered by Tamil Nadu revenue department under the direct supervision of Tiruchirapalli district collector Pradeep Kumar, was accommodating as many as 143 foreign nationals, who were facing trial for their involvement in various offences, including passport violation, overstay, theft, murder etc in India. They hail from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Iran, Nigeria, Kenya, Russia, Sudan and other countries. Meanwhile, reports reaching here said the NIA sleuths acting on confession made by few inmates of the camp and also intelligence inputs, conducted raids at around 20 places in Chennai, Tiruchirapalli and other places across the State.