PETALING JAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Three men, suspected of being members of the Liberation Tigers Of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), have been detained by Malaysian police.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said the trio were detained in multiple raids in Petaling Jaya and Klang on May 15.

"We believe all three men have been in the country since 2004.

"They were using Malaysia as a base to secure funds, spread their propaganda and were attempting to revive the defunct terrorist group," he said in a statement on Sunday.

Among the items seized were LTTE propaganda materials, media equipment and 24 foreign currencies totalling RM20,176.53.

"We managed to track the suspects using the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) cards.

"The trio were using the cards to stay in Malaysia and avoid action from the authorities," he said.

The IGP said one of the suspects had a work permit from a phony company.

"All three have been detained under the Immigration Act," he said.

Mr Khalid vowed that Bukit Aman would be working closely with UNHCR to ensure terrorist elements do not exploit the privileges of the UNHCR card to use the country as their base of operation.

"We will not allow the country to be used as a place for them to hide or conduct any terror activities in the country or on foreign soil," he said.