During questioning, Thambidurai apparently admitted that he had been operating on instructions from senior LTTE intelligence wing leader Sanjeevi Master, second in hierarchy after Pottu Amman.

Seven other Sri Lankan nationals who were arrested along with Thambidurai had been used by him to gather intelligence about Sri Lankan Minister and leader of the Eelam People’s Democratic Party, Douglas Devanands, who used to be a frequent visitor to Chennai. Douglas, a member of the Mahindra Rajapaksa ministry, has escaped at least a dozen assassination bids by the LTTE.

Thambidurai had instructed the seven men to keep a watch on the movements of Douglas’s PA Yogaraj, besides helping him procure iron balls and plastic granules to be smuggled to the LTTE through Rameswaram. Police said Thambidurai had managed to ‘plant’ a man in Devananda’s office in Chennai to get information about his movements. All eight men were remanded to judicial custody and lodged in a prison here.