Police in Slovakia have detained suspects in connection with the killings of an investigative journalist and his fiancee seven months ago, local media report.
Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini on September 27 said on Facebook that he was happy to receive news that "police arrested the suspects in the murder of two innocent young people," adding that the investigation was "a priority" for his government.
Jan Kuciak was found shot dead along with Martina Kusnirova at their home near the capital, Bratislava, in February. They were both 27.
The authorities have said they believed it was a contract killing linked to Kuciak's work.
Citing police sources, news portal Dennik N reported that a total of eight suspects were detained, including the suspected killer and alleged accomplices.
A lawyer for Kuciak's family said the arrests were made early in the day.
Police said they detained persons suspected of violent crime, without mentioning the Kuciak case.
The journalist was investigating political corruption at the time of the slayings, which triggered the biggest street protests in Slovakia since the fall of communism in 1989 and a political crisis that led to the fall of former Prime Minister Robert Fico's government in March.
However, Fico's three-party government coalition remained in power under Pellegrini, who comes from the ruling Smer party, which the ex-prime minister still leads.