to be about 800,000 Tamil refugees and exiterpaats worldwide contributing towards the funding the LTTE.Some support the LTTE by choice and others because of extortion.LTTE supporters have been caught setting up organizations, disguised as charities and relief funds, whose sole purpose is to raise money for the LTTE. There is said to be over 200 front organizations supporting the LTTE globally. In May 2007, two Tamils with connections to the LTTE were arrested in Australia for raising thousands of dollars in Australia under the pretense of being for charities and aid for those affected by the 2004 Asian Tsunami, which killed 35,000 people in Sri Lanka, but instead using the money to fund the LTTE Criminal activities include, sea piracy, human smuggling, drug trafficking and gunrunning.Sea piracyThe LTTE is known for hijacking and looting shipments and vessels and killing the crew on board.Human smugglingThe LTTE started smuggling Tamil people to Western countries, such as Canada in order to gain funds. The LTTE has been said to charge between $10000 to $40000 USD for a Tamil person to be smuggled to Canada illegally, while the usual cost of smuggling is said to be between $20000 to $25000 USD, In addition to this people leaving Sri Lanka have to pay an additional few hundred dollars for an exit visa issued by the LTTE. Those with special skills or wealth have higher charges than ordinary Tamils.The LTTE also specializes in passport forgery and in Canada 1990 a passport forgery scheme was uncovered which became official proof of a link between Canada and the LTTE.Drug traffickingThe LTTE’s history in drug smuggling dates back to the 1970s. LTTE provided a new way for them to get their drugs to markets all over the world.In addition to this the LTTE started trafficking and selling drugs to Western European countries by 1984. Tamil heroin smuggling activities have been reported in countries such as Italy, Switzerland, Poland, and France. One LTTE operative in France who was jailed there for two years for drug trafficking has been said to became the chief of LTTE international operations.Arms SmugglingThe LTTE has a specialized branch called the KP Branch , where KP stands for its highest level operative, Kumaran Padmanathan. This unit is responsible for smuggling weapons, explosives and dual use technology for military operations. The LTTE carries out international arms trafficking and has its own fleet of vessels.The LTTE had a shipping base in Myanmar, but they were forced to leave due to diplomatic pressure.However a new base was set up on Phuket Island in Thailand in lieu of the previous.Other crimes committed by the LTTE that bring in funds are, credit card frauds conducted in a number of countries such as India and the United Kingdom. Similar crimes include counterfeit currency trading.