The police in Croatia are currently preparing an international warrant for the arrest of Marjanovic, who avoided serving a prison sentence in Zadar after he was found guilty of property-related crimes, the Croatian Interior Ministry reported on Tuesday.
Matanic is currently not a subject of any police investigation in Croatia. The police have been searching for Marjanovic since mid-February when he failed to appear in a prison to serve a 13-month sentence, Interior Ministry spokesman Zlatko Mehun told Hina on Tuesday, without disclosing the full names of the men in question.
The spokesman said that the ministry had not yet received an official written report by the Serbian police on yesterday's arrest of the two Croatian nationals in a Negotin hotel.
The Serbian Interior Ministry reported that Marjanovic turned himself in to the police at about 8 am Monday, while Matanic barricaded himself in his hotel room. Matanic, who was armed, insisted on talking to Serbian Interior Ministry officials.
Matanic attracted public attention last September when Bulgaria issued an international warrant for the arrest of him and several other Croatian citizens on suspicion that they were involved in Mafia-style shootings in that country.
In Croatia he is not currently the subject of any investigation, which is why Zagreb cannot ask for his extradition from Serbia. Charges were pressed against him six times from 1995 to 2002 for illegal arms possession, extortions, burglary and some other serious crimes, Mehun said.
The spokesman added that the Croatian Interior Ministry had sent information about him to the Bulgarian police which suspected him of being involved in underworld murders.
Since 1995, Marjanovic has had criminal records for money forgery, grand larceny, car theft, and so on. After Croatia issues an international warrant for his arrest, it can ask for his extradition from Serbia.
The Serbian news agency Beta reported yesterday that while being barricaded in the hotel room, Matanic threatened to kill himself unless he was handed over to Croatian representatives in that country or held talks with the Croatian Ambassador in Belgrade.
Before that the Serbian police tried to arrest Matanic after they received tips that he and Marjanovic entered Serbia from Bulgaria and that they stopped in Negotin due to bad weather.
According to Beta, Serbia issued a warrant for Matanic's arrest on suspicion of his involvement in arms smuggling.