ZAGREB, March 3 (Hina) - The Zagreb police suspect nine persons of involvement in last week's kidnapping of the son of retired general Vladimir Zagorec, but there is a possibility that the group, which some of its members admitted was
planning more abductions, was bigger, police officials said on Wednesday.
ZAGREB, March 3 (Hina) - The Zagreb police suspect nine persons of
involvement in last week's kidnapping of the son of retired general
Vladimir Zagorec, but there is a possibility that the group, which
some of its members admitted was planning more abductions, was bigger,
police officials said on Wednesday.#L#
The first more informative news conference on the kidnapping of
Zagorec's 17-year-old son was attended by Zeljko Zganjer, head of the
Office for the Prevention of Corruption and Organised Crime (USKOK),
the head of the Interior Ministry's criminal police department,
Dragutin Cestar, Zagreb police chief Ivan Babic, and the head of the
Zagreb Criminal Police Sector, Zeljko Prsa.
Prsa said that Zagorec's son was kidnapped on Monday afternoon in
front of his house in 34 Pantovcak Street. The kidnappers, who had
been waiting for him, forced him into a car, handcuffed him and pulled
a woolen cap over his head.
The police claim that the boy was not abused, maltreated or threatened
and that he was given candies and milk to eat.
The kidnappers contacted Zagorec several hours after the kidnapping,
demanding a ransom of 1.5 million euros and threatening to kill his
son if he did not pay the ransom or if he contacted the police.
However, Zagorec contacted the police and from that moment on, two
police officers were in his apartment all the time. The police claim
that the group was well organised and that they knew about the ways
the police could trace them.
Zagorec paid the ransom, which was divided in two parts, through a
messenger of a delivery company. Both times the police followed the
delivery man who was driving a motorbike, but during the delivery of
the first part of the ransom, 750,000 euros, they "lost" him in the
traffic. The kidnappers did not collect the second part of the ransom
because they were afraid of being under police surveillance.
Although they only got one half of the ransom, which the police have
still not found, the kidnappers released Zagorec's son near the
central cemetery of Mirogoj on Friday, February 27.
Police officials said that the operation to arrest the kidnappers
included more than 400 police officers and that they cooperated with
Interpol as well.
Asked whether USKOK would investigate how Zagorec had obtained the
money for the ransom, Zganjer said that USKOK was "not interested in
that".
He also would not comment on a statement by Hrvoje Petrac, the father
of one of the suspects, Novica Petrac, that he and his son had helped
Zagorec collect the money for the ransom. Zganjer only stated that
USKOK would not have submitted an investigation request against Petrac
if there had not been evidence against him.
(Hina) rml sb