Two Customs officers now in custody for their alleged involvement with the LTTE have revealed that they got millions of rupees from the LTTE to clear without checks the outfit’s lethal cargo.

A high ranking police officer attached to the Terrorist Investigations Department (TID) told The Island, yesterday that those Customs men had secured the support of some lower rankers in the department and the police believe that they shared the spoils at the expense of national security.

Investigations have revealed that the two suspects had access to LTTE leader Prabhakaran through Pottu Amman and some of the deals had been struck directly between the LTTE chief and some customs men. "We are going deep into the matter and hope to arrest more suspects who were in the LTTE’s pay," the TID officer said.

The police have launched a probe to find whether any Customs officers with LTTE links have fled the country after the arrest of the two suspects.

The two suspects own luxury houses in the city and the TID is probing their other assets. "Investigations are still at the initial stages and we would be able to reveal more in the next few days," the police officer said adding that more arrests were likely.