"Karuna, who was booked by the London police for travelling under a forged passport could be deported to Sri Lanka," Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry sources said here today.

Ahead of Karuna's arrest yesterday, uncertainty about his whereabouts persisted here for long, though it was widely believed that he was in the UK.

Karuna was reportedly in self-imposed exile after an internal rift in his organisation, known as TMVP, intensified.

Technically, if he is deported, he could be arrested on arrival in Sri Lanka and charged under immigration and emigration laws.

Unconfirmed reports said he was also in possession of a small firearm when he was arrested in the British capital.

The dissident LTTE leader formed TMVP after breaking away from rebel supremo V Prabhakaran in March 2004. For the time being, TMVP is reportedly under the command of Pullaian, an expert fighter from eastern Sri Lanka.

Karuna was often blamed for attacks on the Tiger rebels since his split from the LTTE, whose leaders accused him of working for the government to disrupt their operations.

The Tigers also charged that the Government was protecting Karuna and his loyalists to carry out attacks against the LTTE supporters.

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