SEMINAR ON PREVENTION OF ORGANISED CRIME STARTS IN ZAGREB

ZAGREB, Feb 2 (Hina) - A four-day seminar on the prevention of organised crime began in Zagreb on Tuesday. The event, organised by the Croatian Interior Ministry and the UN Centre For Crime Prevention, is gathering experts from Croatia, Italy, Germany and Great Britain. Organised crime poses a threat to the safety and security of every society, and is particularly on the increase in the countries in transition, said Zeljko Sacic, an assistant to the Croatian Interior Minister, at the beginning of the seminar. Sacic added that Croatian Interior Ministry had established specialised departments in order to tackle organised crime in successful manner. A UN representative, Marc Pasotti, told the gathering that it was necessary for the international community to co-operate and co- ordinate in the fight against such form of crime, particularly recently when the problem of the organised smuggling of people cropped up. Croatia has taken an active part in the fight against international crime, said Zeljko Horvatic, a professor at the law college at Zagreb University and a member of the Croatian delegation to the UN General Assembly's committee for the drawing up of a convention on organised crime. The Zagreb seminar continued with lectures of experts. (hina) mm ms