JOHANNESBURG Dec 14 (Reuters) – The fugitive killer
of the Serbian warlord known as Arkan has been arrested in South
Africa and will appear in court next month on drug charges, the
New Age newspaper reported on Wednesday.
Dobrosav Gavric was sentenced in 2006 to 30 years
imprisonment for killing Zeljko “Arkan” Raznatovic, Serbia’s
most infamous wartime paramilitary leader and mafia boss, but
has been on the run since.
The New Age said Gavric’s identity came to light during a
police investigation into the killing in March of a Cape Town
man linked to organised crime.
South African police did not reply to questions about the
Gavric case sent by email.
Gavric’s fingerprints have been sent to Interpol for
verification and the newspaper said Serbia is expected to
request his extradition to serve his sentence. Serbian Justice
Ministry officials were not available for comment.
If police had not discovered cocaine in Gavric’s pocket
after they stopped his car following the shooting, in which he
was wounded, his identity would not have been revealed, the New
Age said. Gavric has been charged with drug possession.
Arkan, who was indicted by the U.N. war crimes tribunal for
atrocities during the 1992-95 Bosnia war, was shot dead in the
lobby of Belgrade’s Intercontinental Hotel on Jan. 15, 2000.
Arkan’s “Tigers” were the most feared of Serb paramilitary
groups operating in Bosnia during the war.
Gavric and his associate Milan Djuricic were arrested in
2001 and sentenced in October 2006 to 30 and 35 years in jail
respectively for killing and plotting to kill Arkan.
Both have been on the run since their sentencing. Police
sources at the time said they had initially fled to Bosnia.
The trial proved Gavric fired shots that killed Arkan and
two of his friends. Gavric was wounded in the ensuing shootout
and was using a wheelchair and crutches during the trial.
(Reporting by Marius Bosch in Johannesburg and Aleksandar
Vasovic in Belgrade; editing by Robert Woodward)
© Thomson Reuters 2011 All rights reserved
