318 persons arrested so far

Belgrade, March 16, 2003- The Serbian Ministry of Interior's dragnet for the capture of the assassins of Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, as well as the masterminds and their accomplices, has been expanded in order to track down instigators and financiers of this criminal act. Since March 12, the police have arrested 318 persons.

Of the 318 persons arrested, 190 were captured in Belgrade alone. A total of 307 were taken into custody for the maximum detention period of 30 days, as stipulated by the Law on state of emergency. Persons arrested were found with a large cache of firearms. Apart from traditional weapons - revolvers, hunting and assault rifles, and hand grenades - suspects were also found in possession of a large amount of teargas, explosive devices, Thompson submachine guns, crossbows, special optical equipment, a few kilograms of narcotics, forged documents, a large number of false licence plates, stolen motor vehicles and various communication devices, reads a statement by the Serbian government.

Four of the arrested requested and were granted protected witness status. The statements they gave to the special prosecutor's office confirmed suspicions that the Zemun Gang drug cartel, with the help of members of the state and public security services during the Slobodan Milosevic regime, took part in political assassinations and organised drug trafficking. Through a European network of dealers, the Zemun Gang drug cartel was directly connected to the Columbian drug cartel. Its members also engaged in theft, robbery, assaults and other serious criminal acts, read the statement.

The Zemun Gang continued with their criminal activities after the fall of the Milosevic regime on October 5, 2000, mostly engaging in drug trafficking and kidnappings. In clashes with other criminal gangs, they have committed more than 50 murders. With the help of informers, mercenaries in the police and state security service, and with police IDs in their possession, members of this group managed to evade arrest and often influenced police investigations into their activities.

Despite a large number of criminal charges filed against them, they managed to slow down and stop many court proceedings through pressure and bribes, to remain at liberty to continue their criminal enterprise. Statements made by protected witnesses, members of the Zemun Gang, helped the police resolve some murder cases.

In line with the Law on special prosecutor in the fight against organised crime, the public will not be informed about details of the search until a court procedure has begun. The Ministry of Interior's Directorate for the Fight Against Organised Crime, all secretariats of the Interior in Serbia and other security bodies will use all means available in the investigation and will continue their intensive manhunt for the leaders of this criminal gang, reads the statement by the Serbian government.