Kuala Lumpur: An ethnic Indian
Singaporean businessman and opposition Reform Party member
Balldev Naidu Ragavan, has been extradited from Singapore to
the United States where he stands accused of trying to supply
arms to Sri Lanka's defeated Tamil Tiger rebels.
Naidu, 47, was extradited to the US on December 18,
'The Straits Times' newspaper reported quoting Singapore's
Ministry of Home Affairs.
The order for his extradition came last month after a
local district court ruled that there was sufficient evidence
to justify a hearing of his alleged offences in the US.
He is wanted by the American authorities for allegedly
conspiring with another Singaporean, Haniffa Osman, to try to
buy weapons for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
Haniffa, 57, pleaded guilty a year ago and was
sentenced to 37 months' jail by a Baltimore court.
Naidu is said to have acted as a broker between
firearms manufacturers and purchasers between February and
September 2006.
Sri Lankan troops overran Tamil Tigers in May this
year after fighting a three-decade-long war with them.
PTI
First Published: Friday, December 25, 2009, 13:31