Brkic: Officers of so-called Kosovo Police arrested in full combat gear

BELGRADE - State Secretary at the Serbian Interior Ministry Zeljko Brkic said an anti-terrorist unit of the Serbian police had located and arrested three officers of the so-called Kosovo Police deep inside the territory of central Serbia earlier in the afternoon, and noted that the arrestees had been "in full combat gear."

At a press conference in the Palace of Serbia, Brkic said the arrest had taken place at 12.38 pm and that the Serbian police had not at any time crossed the administrative line towards Kosovo-Metohija.

"All three arrestees were in full combat gear and armed with three automatic rifles and ammunition and equipped with maps, GPS devices and other equipment," Brkic said.

He said the three, identified by the initials R Z, B S and M S, had driven to the Tresava-Batnjik alternative crossing in a Dacia Duster police car and then continued on foot along the Orahovo-Gnjilica road, where they were located and arrested by the Serbian anti-terrorist police unit.

"The location of the arrest is in the Gnjilice village in the Raska municipality, more than a kilometre inside the territory of central Serbia. I would like to note that the Republic of Serbia is a serious state and that Interior Ministry personnel did not at any time cross the administrative line or get close to it, which means that they did not violate UNSCR 1244 or the Military-Technical Agreement. They committed no unlawful acts during the arrest of those persons," Brkic said.

He added that the police would continue to work on the case in collaboration with the relevant prosecutor's office.