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COURT CONFISCATES ASSETS WORTH 2.3 MILLION BRITISH POUNDS OF TWO LANKAN TAMILS FOR PEOPLE SMUGGLING

BY Walter Jayawardhana

Two Sri Lanka Tamils who were investigated for 150 student visa scams by the Metropolitan Police in London have been ordered to pay a 2.3 million British Pounds in a confiscation order by the Isleworth Crown Court.

The purpose of the law implemented by the court is to dismantle criminal networks and confiscate the ill gotten money of the criminals, the police said.

In the order delivered , September 13, Arumugam Kanegeshwaran (56) and Ponnadurai Puvenendran (52) have been asked to face five and eight years of imprisonment in default in what is described as one of the largest confiscation orders imposed for the offense of people trafficking in London.

The Metropolitan Regional Asset Recovery Team detectives handled the financial investigation that finally led the court to arrive at the verdict.

The two Sri Lankan expatriate Tamils were initially charged with Harry Wilson (48) a Zimbabwean and jailed in 2005 following a criminal investigation jointly done by the Scotland Yard and the South African Police.

They pleaded guilty for making bogus applications for about 150 people to stay illegally in London and jailed for those criminal charges in the year 2005 after pleading guilty. The charges were related to immigration laws.

In the latest case that resulted the confiscation order Kanegeshwaran was ordered to pay 416,000 British Pounds within one year and Puvanandran was ordered to pay 1.6 million British Pounds within 18 months or spend five years and eight years imprisonment respectively.

Trevor Shepherd, Metropolitan Police Economic and Specialist Crime Command said: "This is one of the largest confiscation orders associated with people trafficking. A significant proportion of the confiscated monies will be returned to police to fund future investigations and reduce harm to London's communities. This case demonstrates the Met's ongoing commitment to dismantling criminal networks and seizing their assets."

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