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Post-Djindijc roundup nets 7,000

Djindjic
Djindjic was assassinated in Belgrade in March.

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SPECIAL REPORT

BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro (AP) -- Serbian police have rounded up 7,000 suspects in a crackdown on organized crime following the assassination of Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, a top police official said Friday.

Sreten Lukic, head of the police's public security sector, did not specify how many of the suspects remained in custody or how many would face legal proceedings, B-92 radio reported.

Police accuse organized crime leaders of being behind the March 12 assassination.

The killing unleashed a massive police crackdown against underworld bosses linked to the remnants of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's regime in the police, judiciary and other state services.

Dozens of former security chiefs, paramilitary commanders, a former head of the military and some prominent politicians have been detained for questioning by police.

"No one will be spared," Lukic said, describing the police action as "the biggest in Europe."

The investigation into Djindjic's assassination also shed light on the 2000 slaying of a former Serbian president, Ivan Stambolic.

Police accuse members of a notorious paramilitary unit of carrying out both murders. The unit, created by Milosevic, included members with criminal records. Its former commander and a top suspect in the Djindjic killing, Milorad Lukovic, remains at large.

Authorities have accused Milosevic and his wife, Mirjana Markovic, of ordering the Stambolic slaying. Police have said they want to question the couple, but no formal charges have been laid.

Lukic made his comments while reporting on the hunt for Djindjic's killers to the Serbian parliament's security board.



Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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