With the imposement of a five-hour curfew in Wattala area last night, 52 tiger suspects in hiding were arrested in a combined army and police cordon and search operation., police sources said.

     The surprise curfew took the residents of the area by surprise and already ten out of the 52 suspects had been identifiesd as LTTE cadres, The Island said. Chief Inspector Premalal Rangala offiecr-in-chrage Wattala police said that there had been no leakage of informatuion of the operation to outsiders as well as to those who took part in the search.

     Those who could not produce identity cards or other documents to prove their identity were taken in to custody. Most of them were those who gave the slip to police in the recent search operation conducted in Colombo and Dehiwala-Mt. Lavinia area, The Island revealed. These LTTE cadres had escaped by boats from Colombo through waterways and those who are in custody are to be interrogated and photographed for further identification.

     One of the householders who were providing accommodation to four LTTEers was also arrested.

Contact Information: Send mail to webmaster@priu.gov.lk with questions or comments about this web site. Last modified: September 25, 2003.