Sri Lankan police said Sunday that they have arrested at least seven Tamil Tiger senior members with arms while on transit.

The police at Mannar, 330 kilometers north of the capital Colombo, said that they seized mines, detonators, electric wires and mobile phones while they were being transported on a three- wheeler taxi, early on Sunday.

The two boats on which they were transported to the coast off Mannar, were also confiscated, said the police.

Among the arrested is a top Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam ( LTTE) explosives expert, the police added.

The arrest comes after the announcement by the LTTE on Friday that they would be using their own armed escorts while traveling through government-held areas.

Under the February 2002 cease-fire backed by the Norwegian peace facilitators, the Tigers are not allowed to carry weapons through government-controlled areas in the Northern and Eastern provinces.

Source: Xinhua