INTERIOR MINISTER WARNS OF RISING ORGANISED CRIME RATE

( Editorial: --> 7856 ) ZAGREB, 28 Jan (Hina) - The rate of organised crime in Croatia is increasing, Croatian Interior Minister Ivan Penic said on Wednesday. During 1997, there were 5.62 per cent less reported crimes than in 1996, but the number of organised crime-related criminal acts increased by 6.46 per cent. "Such a situation bears witness to a favourable security situation for citizens and their property, but criminal actions of organised criminal groups are becoming more obvious, especially in big cities," Penic told a press conference. In 1997, 5,506 organised crime-related criminal acts were reported, which is 11.4% of all reported criminal acts. The data shows that "organised crime is very present" in Croatia, Penic said, adding the incidence of organised crime had been monitored by police since 1990. Police related five out of 118 last year's killings with organised crime, Assistant Interior Minister Zeljko Sacic said. Speaking in layman terms, we suspect that the killings had been ordered, they all happened in Zagreb, and were planned and carried out well, Sacic said, adding police were working on solving those cases. Several severe robberies and murders which happened in Zagreb last year have still not been solved, although police are working on discovering the perpetrators, Penic said. Police have established that there are connections between certain groups from Zagreb and groups of criminals from Frankfurt and some other foreign cities. Assistant Interior Minister Josko Moric assessed the security situation in the Danube River region as very stable, adding there were cases of sporadic crime, characteristic of rural areas. (hina) mm rm 281920 MET jan 98