COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) - The Tamil Tigers use a worldwide network of fake charities and a sophisticated smuggling operation to raise up to $300 million a year to fund a separatist battle with the Sri Lankan government, Jane's Intelligence Review reported in its August edition. The London-based journal said the Tigers' fundraising prowess enabled the group to develop "one of the most sophisticated insurgencies in the world," which includes an army, navy and even a primitive air force of a few light aircraft.An international crackdown on funding for terror groups in recent years was thought to have battered the Tigers' fundraising. But Jane's reported that the group still managed to make between $200 million and $300 million a year. The group uses fake charities to raise money from Tamil expatriates and also smuggles arms, drugs and possibly even people through the nearby southern Indian province of Tamil Nadu, the report said.
| Sounds a lot like the Paleos, doesn't it. |