Naples, Italy  - Italian police Wednesday arrested at least 30 people suspected of obtaining finance for Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers rebel group.

The suspects, all Sri Lanka citizens, were picked up in raids in several cities including Naples, Rome, Genoa, Bologna and Palermo, police said.

"The suspects extorted sums from fellow Sri Lankan nationals working as housekeepers or minders for the elderly in Italy," Naples' anti-terrorism police chief, Antonio Sbordone, said.

The money was then sent home to finance the rebel group, he explained in a television interview.

Wednesday's arrests followed an investigation which began two years ago in Naples, when a group of Sri Lankans reported to authorities that they had received threats after organizing a peace rally for Sri Lanka.

The suspects are believed to belong to a Switzerland-based Tamil Tigers network with branches in France and other European nations, according to Naples prosecutor, Rosario Cantelmo, who headed the probe in the southern Italian city.

Tamil Tigers rebels have fought since 1983 to create an independent homeland for Sri Lanka's ethnic minority Tamils, often engaging in bombing campaigns.

The group is classified as a terrorist organization by the United States and several other countries. (dpa)