The police began Operation Amphitheatre on Monday morning, arresting a large number of members of a criminal organization suspected of abuse of office and organizing illegal gambling, Interior Minister Ivica Dacic has told Tanjug.

According to him, the police are searching over 150 facilities throughout the country. They have so far seized large sums of money and illegal gambling machines.

The operation is being conducted by the anti-organized crime department in coordination with the Office of the Prosecutor for Organized Crime, Dacic added.

More than 600 officers are involved in the operation, which is directed against corruption and abuse of office in order to organize illegal gambling, Dacic stated.