Quick Facts
Biography
Alleged to be one of six original founding members, Loganathan Sabanayagam was the leader of the Tamil Tigers in Canada and a document forger. After his arrest, Canada was forced to update the security measures on its passports.
Known by the alias Maran, he was a cousin to Velupillai Prabhakaran.
He was arrested in 1992, following an investigative report in the Toronto Star that uncovered his forgery ring. After police dismissed a phone call from cleaning staff in December 1991 alerting them that forgery tools had been found in his apartment. Reporters Dale Brazao and Paul Watson went to meet the cleaning staff and gathered the evidence while posing as prospective tenants.
Sabanayagam's partner in the forgery ring, Santhakumar Kumarasamy, was arrested in 1990 and was the first Canadian ever convicted of passport fraud, but died in prison prior to Sabanayagam's charges being laid. Sabanayagam, whom prosecutors argued tried to "subvert the sovereignty" of Canada, pleaded guilty to forgery and was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment followed by 18 months released on probation. He appeared at his bail hearing wearing a Tamil Tigers shirt.