A top MDMK functionary, wanted in connection with the Sri Lanka hawala transaction case' has surrendered before the police.

Police went to the house of Seema Basheer, organising secretary of MDMK, on Tuesday evening but he, along with another party functionary, gave a slip to the police.

A special police team was formed to nab him.

In the meantime, Basheer surrendered on Tuesday night before the Q branch, which is dealing with the cases related to LTTE in the state.

Police said on information provided by Barakath, a Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam activist, who was arrested following seizure of aluminium ingots, suspected to be smuggled for the LTTE from a factory in Perambalur, they had been watching movements of Basheer.

Basheer was taken to Tiruchirappalli to be produced before a judicial magistrate on Wednesday.

In the last assembly polls, Basheer lost to DMK General Secretary K Anbazhagan by a slender margin of over 400 votes in Chennai Harbour seat.

Investigations were being carried out to found who were behind the transaction of money to LTTE from Chennai through hawala channels.

Meanwhile, Rameshkumar, a suspected LTTE supporter, who had been running a soap factory in Perambalur, from where the aluminium ingots were to be moved to Sri Lanka, surrendered before a metropolitan magistrate.

He was wanted by the police and had been absconding for the past several days, ever since police seized the ingots from his company.

The Magistrate remanded him to 15 days judicial custody. The Q branch police had stated that it would be moving the court to take him to custody for interrogation.

With the arrest of Rameshkumar, the arrests in the case had gone up to eight.