Stefanovic: Information was disclosed over extended period

BELGRADE - A senior Criminal Police Administration official who is now in the hands of the investigative authorities had been collaborating with agents of a Western intelligence service for an extended period of time, rather than only a few months, Serbian Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic said Tuesday.

Declining to reveal the identity of the official or provide more information about the investigation, Stefanovic told Prva television the perpetrator had been identified and neutralised by police and Security Information Agency operatives in an efficient operation after maintaining contact with an agent of a Western intelligence service.

"Further proceedings are up the prosecutor," Stefanovic said.

This is the first time in history that such an activity has been halted in the Interior Ministry, Stefanovic said.