Singapore Man Sentenced to More Than Four Years in Pirson for Conspiracy to Provide Material Support to a Foreign Terrorist Organization

Aided Tamil Tiger Terrorists in the Attempted Purchase of Grenade Launchers, Sniper Rifles, Machine Guns and other State of the Art Firearms

BALTIMORE, MD—U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced Balraj Naidu, age 48, a citizen of the Republic of Singapore, today to 57 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, for conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. A federal jury convicted Naidu on October 18, 2010.

The sentence was announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge William Winter of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations; Special Agent in Charge John Wagner of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Washington Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Robert Craig of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service - Mid-Atlantic Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Richard A. McFeely of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III.

“The sentencing today reflects our commitment to keeping U.S. weapons and technology out of the hands of terrorists,” said William Winter, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations in Baltimore. Homeland Security Investigations will continue to pursue those who seek to jeopardize America’s national and international security by selling technologies and weaponry to terrorist organizations. Enforcing export laws is one of Homeland Security Investigation’s top priorities and we will continue to work with our partners to ensure that those who send prohibited items will be brought to justice."

According to evidence presented at Naidu’s five day trial, beginning in February 2006, Naidu and his co-conspirators attempted to purchase state of the art weaponry from China, Thailand, North Korea, the Phillipines and Indonesia for the terrorist organization, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (Tamil Tigers) operating within Sri Lanka, to be used to fight against Sri Lankan government forces. Several arms merchants refused to supply the Tamil Tigers with weaponry once the destination for the arms had been disclosed by Naidu and his associates. In April 2006, Naidu’s Indonesian sources for weapons unwittingly introduced Naidu and his associates to an agent for an undercover business in Maryland that purported to sell military weapons.

The evidence showed that in the subsequent months, the conspirators’ negotiations with the undercover agent centered on the acquisition of American made weaponry. Terms of the sale included delivery of the weapons to locations in international waters off the coast of Sri Lanka. The weaponry was to be off-loaded by the Sea Tigers, the naval branch of the Tamil Tigers. A co-conspirator, Haniffa Bin Osman, visited Baltimore in the summer of 2006, where he examined and test-fired much of the weaponry. As a result of the trip, Tamil Tiger representatives wire transferred $250,000 into the undercover business’ accounts as a down payment on a $900,000 weapons deal. Approximately 28 tons of weapons and ammunition, which the conspirators believed they were purchasing, was air-lifted to the U.S. territory of Guam. On September 29, 2006, after inspecting the weapons and transferring an additional $450,000 into the undercover business’ accounts, co-conspirators Bin Osman, Haji Subandi, Erick Wotulo and Thirunavukarasu Varatharasa were arrested and indicted. The investigation continued and led to the indictment of Naidu and an alleged Tamil Tigers financier on charges of conspiracy to provide material support to the Tamil Tigers and related offenses.

Thirunavukarasu Varatharasa, age 40, a citizen of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka; Haji Subandi, age 73, and retired Indonesian Marine Corps General Erick Wotulo, age 62, both citizens of the Republic of Indonesia; and Haniffa Bin Osman, age 59, a citizen of the Republic of Singapore, previously pleaded guilty to their participation in the conspiracy and were sentenced to 57 months, 37 months, 30 months, and 37 months in prison, respectively.

Founded in 1976, the Tamil Tigers has advocated the violent overthrow of the Sri Lankan government, employing acts of violence, including suicide bombings, against both civilian and military targets. Approximately 200 such attacks have been attributed to the Tamil Tigers to date. The Tamil Tigers relies heavily upon supporters throughout the world to raise and launder money, acquire intelligence and purchase military use technology. The U.S. Department of State designated the Tamil Tigers as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in1997. As such, the Tamil Tigers cannot legally raise money or procure operational equipment in the United States.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the investigative work performed by ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations, NCIS, DCIS, the FBI and the Baltimore City Police Department. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys James G. Warwick and Rachel M. Yasser, who prosecuted the case.