POLICE IN E. CROATIA DESTROY 25 TONNES OF EXPLOSIVES

( Editorial: --> 9425 ) VUKOVAR, Feb 4 (Hina) - Police in the Danube river region of eastern Croatia during the last month destroyed 25 tonnes of explosives left along roads and paths or elsewhere in the open, Vukovar-Srijem County police told reporters Wednesday. Head of the police department Stipo Rimac reiterated his call to residents of eastern Croatia to report every weapon they come across, and not to leave anywhere weapons they may illegally possess, but report and hand them in. "We shall not use repressive measures towards such residents," Rimac told reporters in Brsadin, where police found two plane cluster bombs and 50 empty trunks for anti-armoured vehicle mines in a warehouse. Rimac believed 300 mines from these trunks had been placed along the former separation line near Brsadin during the war. According to a statement of the Vukovar-based office of the Croatian deputy interior minister, more than 25,000 projectiles, 91 bomb, 70 mines, 29 hand rocket launchers, 17 rifles and five machine guns have been seized in eastern Croatia since 15 December 1997. Locals have since 27 December handed in more than 360,000 projectiles, 2,200 bombs, 141 kg of explosive, 1,761 mine, 208 hand rocket launchers, 743 rifles, and two 30mm cannons, the statement said. As regarded seized smuggled goods, since 15 December police seized 367 cartons of cigarettes, 2,344 music cassettes, 22 video tapes, 763 CDs, 125 clothing articles, 2,870 pyrotechnic devices, 300 crates of beer and 748 table fans. (hina) ha jn 042013 MET feb 98