27 civilians arrested in Colombo north

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 January 2007, 11:07 GMT]
27 civilians including three women, majority of them Tamils, were arrested Tuesday in Colombo north police division in the western province during a search operation on vehicles plying to and from Kandy and Colombo, conducted by the police. They have been detained in Gampaha police station and are being interrogated, sources in Colombo said.

About 1500 vehicles were subjected to severe checks and persons traveling were interrogated.

The government security establishment has tightened the security of Colombo city and its suburbs as a prelude to the 59th anniversary celebration of Sri Lanka's independence day that falls on February 4.