Three spied on STF movements for Tiger detainees

Vavuniya police last Friday arrested three persons, who were said to be LTTE spies. They are alleged to have been passing information on STF movements to the LTTE suspects detained in the Vavuniya prison.

A woman and two men had been arrested, Headquarters Inspector Vavuniya Police, Chief Inspector Erick Perera said.

He said that as some lawyers were recording the operation to rescue three guards held hostage by the detainees there, their phones had also been taken into custody and the footage deleted.

Special Task Force (STF) Commandant, DIG R. W. Chandrasiri Ranawana yesterday revealed that about 28 LTTE prisoners, detained in the Vavuniya prison, had satellite phones to pass information to the Tamil Diaspora abroad. Those phones were detected during the operation to rescue the three prison guards. The STF seized a total of 57 mobile phones during the raid on the prison.

He said that ASP Silvester Wijesinghe had been rushed to Vavuniya with special weapons and Tactic Unit commandoes on June 28 with 40 elite commandoes. Approximately 80 commandoes participated in the rescue of the three prison guards. The operation commenced at 12.00 noon on June 29 and was over at 12.45 p.m. All the prisoners were transferred to the Anuradhapura prison immediately afterwards.

Ranawana added that of 200 prisoners at the Vavuniya prison, 28 were LTTE detainees. The Vavuniya prison was located near the Court complex.

He said that the reason for taking three prison guards hostage was because they were transferring three detainees to the Anuradhapura prison on a Court order. The inmates were demanding that they be retained in the Vuvuniya prison. As the authorities refused to do so they staged a hunger strike. But food items adequate for six months were found inside the prison.