Serb police arrest deputy prosecutor in PM's murder

8.50am

BELGRADE - Serb police say they have arrested the republic's Deputy Public Prosecutor, Milan Sarajlic, over his contacts with a gang suspected of killing the prime minister.

Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic was gunned down outside the main government building on March 12.

Police said in a statement to local media that they had detained Sarajlic, the first senior official held in the case, due to his contacts and links with the Zemun gang.

Police said they were searching Sarajlic's office and apartment and would give further details later.

Public Prosecutor Sinisa Simic sacked Sarajlic following his arrest, the independent Beta news agency reported.

The government, which last week declared a state of emergency giving police extra powers to hold suspects, says gangster bosses linked to state security officials from the Slobodan Milosevic era ordered the premier's murder in a bid to create chaos.

It said a criminal group called the Zemun gang, named after the Belgrade district, had organised the murder. But suspected ringleaders, including a former special police commander, remain at large.

New Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Zivkovic, who took office on Tuesday, vowed to hunt down Djindjic's killers, his reformist predecessor and close ally.

He told parliament before his election to the post that police searching for the assassins had detained more than 750 people in a sweep targeting 155 known criminal gangs.

Zivkovic and other members of the DOS ruling bloc had said they were not satisfied with the work of the judiciary and that a clean up of their ranks would have to be conducted.

In a separate statement, police said they believed the ringleaders were hiding in Belgrade in flats or houses rented over the past year as potential safe houses.

- REUTERS