Sept 01, Vancouver: Canadian police had separated over three dozen suspected Tamil Tigers from the 492 migrants arrived in Vancouver last month in a Thai cargo ship MV Sun Sea, a Cnews report said yesterday.

The separated migrants, suspected of being linked to the Tamil Tigers, are reportedly held in "segregation" at Fraser Regional Correctional Centre, in B.C., for questioning by police.

The police had said the suspects are being interviewed and the RCMP, CSIS and Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) are conducting extensive background checks on the suspects. The authorities are looking into possible involvement of the suspects in alien smuggling, belonging to the LTTE Tamil Tiger terrorist group, and taking part in crimes against humanity.

The suspects held in segregation include the captain of the MV Sun Sea, Kamalraj Kandasamy, aka "Captain Vinod," his 24-man crew and about a dozen other migrants arrived in the ship.

Police had said several men were moved to a segregation unit because they were "threatening or intimidating" other migrants, the report said.

According to police and intelligence officials Captain Vinod, a Tamil Tigers leader, was deputy to a captain who steered a sister ship, Ocean Lady, to Canada last October with 76 migrants on board. Police reportedly allege that a Tiger cell in Canada has organized the Sun Sea smuggling operation.

Meanwhile, a Globe and Mail investigative report yesterday said that Tamil asylum seekers are gathering in Thailand in preparation for another smuggling ship to make the journey to Canada.