Venezuela has arrested six suspects in the killing of an Italian-born businessman last month, Justice Minister Jesse Chacon said on Saturday.

Filippo Sindoni, 74, was kidnapped in the north-central city of Maracay on March 28, said Chacon. His body was found a day later in the town of Carora, about 370 km west of Caracas, on the road to Colombia.

The six arrested in the past several days include a police officer and an ex-police officer, said the minister. It has been said that men, who were dressed as police officers, stopped Sindoni's car at a checkpoint and kidnapped him.

Sindoni was the owner of a pasta company and a TV station. The wealthy businessman, originally from Sicily and having lived in Venezuela for 50 years, was a friend of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

Chacon said possibility existed that his abductors were trying to sell him to rebels or paramilitary fighters in neighboring Colombia.

Source: Xinhua