Chennai/UNI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested nine inmates of Trichy Special camp in connection with an illegal drugs and arms trade case.

The arrests were made by a ten-member NIA team from Kerala led by Superintendent of Police Dharmarajan.

The Special camp houses Foreign Nationals--a majority of them being Sri Lankan Tamils--facing various criminal charges.

While five of the nine arrested were Sri Lankan Tamils, the remaining four were Sinhalese.

They were brought to Special Court, Poonamallee in Chennai amid tight security and remanded in judicial custody.

Those arrested were C.Gunashekharan alias Guna alias Prem Kumar, Pushparajah, Mohd Asmin, Alahapperumoga Sunil Ghamini Fanseaa alias Kottaghamini alias Sunil Ghamini alias Neelakandan, Stanley Kennady Fernanda alias Ezhilan alias Bummo alias Kisan, Ladiya Chandrasena, Dhanukka Roshan, Vella Suranka alias Gamage Suranka Pradeep alias Suranka and Thilipan alias Dileepan.

In a statement posted in its twitter handle, NIA today said the arrests made yesterday, were a follow up to the raids it had conducted in July this year during which several mobile phones and incriminating materials linking to an international drug cartel, were seized.

The case pertained to activities of a Sri Lankan drug mafia controlled by C.Gunashekharan alias Guna, and Pushparajah alias Pookutti Kanna, in association with Haji Salim, drug and arms supplier based in Pakistan, which has been operating in India and Sri Lanka in illegal drugs and arms for the revival of the outlawed Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in India and Sri Lanka.

The case was registered suo motu by the NIA on Jul 8, 2022.

Further investigations in the case are in progress, the NIA said.