D-Company, Tigers form drug cartel

CHENNAI: Central agencies have issued a high-level alert about a new nexus between the dreaded Dawood Ibrahim crime syndicate, popularly known as the ‘D-Company’, and the surviving networks of the Sea Tigers, the marine wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

According to alerts issued to south Indian states and Sri Lanka, this alliance is aiming to expand the narcotics trade into South India and Sri Lanka.

The D-Company, which has a long-established narcotics and smuggling network, has recently suffered significant losses in its traditional strongholds of Maharashtra, Gujarat, and northern India due to an intensified law enforcement crackdown. Forced to seek new territories, the syndicate is now leveraging the Sea Tigers’ now-dormant smuggling routes across Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka to transport drugs.

Earlier, the Tigers used to smuggle weapons for their struggle using this route.

Sources said that communications intercepted confirm that D-Company operatives like Haji Salim are in contact with former LTTE members and sympathisers. This provides the syndicate with access to critical maritime and land routes once controlled by the LTTE at the height of its power. Haji Salim, now camped in Pakistan, is already under the radar of NIA in connection with smuggling drugs and arms, and his possible links with Lankans lodged in Tiruchy special camp.

For the LTTE's former Sea Tigers, this alliance offers a financial lifeline. Intelligence reports indicate that the group's surviving cadres lack leadership and, more importantly, funds. An earlier National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe revealed attempts by former LTTE members to access foreign bank accounts, likely to finance new operations.

Though the intelligence agencies believe that a full-scale revival of the LTTE's separatist movement is unlikely, the partnership with the cash-rich D-Company provides the capital needed for potential recruitment and arms purchases.

Though the LTTE’s ideological battle is almost over, its networks are not, sources noted, adding that the nexus can create a formidable threat. The D-Company brings immense financial resources and international reach, while the Sea Tigers contribute invaluable local expertise. Their knowledge of coastal routes along the Palk Strait is particularly valuable for moving drugs between India and Sri Lanka.

In response to this growing threat, the NIA and intelligence agencies are closely monitoring communications and financial flows between suspected operatives. Security has been tightened with increased maritime patrols around Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Authorities are also tracking Tamil diaspora networks that could be used to channel money.

Sources added that the concern is not just about a potential ideological resurgence of the LTTE, but the establishment of a powerful criminal infrastructure capable of simultaneously supporting terror, and drugs and weapons trafficking.