Sri Lanka Police today said that 65 persons, including 10 women, were arrested within the past 2 months for allegedly assisted in an attempt to revive the now defunct LTTE.

The suspects were arrested mostly from Northern and Eastern provinces while 5 of them have been released already, police spokesman SSP Ajith Rohana told reporters in Colombo.

He stated that of the arrested women 8 are being detained and interrogated at the Bussa camp while the other 2 are currently at the Vavuniya detention camp.   

The Police Spokesman stated that investigations had revealed that large sums of foreign currency were in circulation among the suspects.

Meanwhile the Police Department says that operations to apprehend motorists driving under the influence of alcohol will be strengthened from today, in view of the upcoming festive season. The special operation will continue until April 20, SSP Ajith Rohana said.

He stated that relevant authorities have been requested to formulate a new law which would see the driver’s license of those found guilty of drunken driving cancelled for a period of 6 months.

He also said that police officers will be stationed for the protection of public during the festive season and that armed police officers, dressed in civilian attire, will be stationed near financial institutions for their security.

The Police Spokesman further said that the number of road accidents which have been recorded in the Western Province have sown a sharp decrease after urging motorcyclist to keep their headlights on even during daytime.

He emphasized in the importance of implementing this method in the remaining provinces.