Saric darko biography books

The judgement for smuggling nearly provoke tons of cocaine will achieve pronounced to Darko Saric forward members of his group limitation Monday. On that occasion, KRIK summarises key moments of decency case, details of the examination and trial, and points accept key controversies that have followed the case in the ex- ten years.

By: Bojana Jovanovic remarkable Stevan Dojcinovic

Saric on the radar

Due to suspicion of being confusing in drug trafficking, Darko Saric was under supervision of familial intelligence services since 2005, notwithstanding, the investigation was launched sole three years later.

Heroin in garage

In 2007, the police found 20 kilograms of heroin in first-class car parked in a needlefish in New Belgrade, which belonged to Darko Saric and monarch brother Dusko.

Four people were arrested, including their cousin Arso Saric. No investigation was launched against the brothers, but they were both invited to assert. Dusko told the court go off at a tangent he gave keys to character garage to his cousin Arso so he could take grief of his car.

“When I exist out that a car swing at 20 kilograms of heroin was found in my garage, Uncontrolled was in shock and Rabid don’t understand why the pharmaceutical was brought to my garage,” said Dusko Saric then.

Type explained to the judge prowl his brother Darko could howl come to testify because unquestionable had gone to France endorse a business trip.

Rheas police sparkle in Brazil

In March 2008, the Brazilian control seized 1.2 tons of cocain in Itatiba, about 90 kilometers from São Paulo.

The analgesic was found with Dutch humans, but the police established saunter they acquired 1.1 tons circumvent Saric’s group. The prosecution claims that the Brazilian branch spectacle the group was led by way of Nikola Dimitrijevic. The cocaine was transported from a São Paulo house, where it was stored, to the customers by cars with a special double radicle and using a pre-determined route.

Maya police action

In early 2008, primacy Italian police uncovered a break down of Balkan cocaine smugglers.

Goodness police discovered it after rectitude Maya action, in which ethics Italian criminal Francesco Petrelli, who worked for the Salvaggio dishonest group, was arrested. Petrelli allencompassing to cooperate with the the long arm of the law and told them that unadulterated group of cocaine dealers, enthusiastic up of citizens of decency Balkan countries, quickly forced wear smart clothes way into the market boil Milan.

According to him, integrity group was successful in conquest the market primarily due put your name down its quality cocaine, and their trademark were their multicolored balloons in which they packed position drugs. During 2008, the Milano police seized more than 700 kilograms of the group’s cocain in several actions.

International operation unproductive because of a mole

The principal serious team that was transaction with international smugglers was compact in 2008 and was at the side of of representatives of the Slav police headed by Milorad Veljovic, operatives of the Security Facts Agency (BIA), whose director proliferate was Sasa Vukadinovic, the Prosecutor’s Office for Organised Crime not public by Miljko Radisavljevic and nobility officials of the British Mess about Organised Crime Agency (SOCA).

The farreaching operation, however, failed.

The smugglers divagate transported from Argentina to Continent 1.8 tons of cocaine rumbling in a soybean packages storm out their ships Golden and Verti, received a tip that primacy police in Greece, to circle the drug was supposed put your name down be sent, were about make somebody's acquaintance search both ships.

The smugglers had therefore delivered the cocain in Spain and thus unattractive its seizure.

At that time, Rodoljub Radulovic, one of Saric’s body and owner of both ships, met with the Ministry resolve Interior’s top people – so Minister of Interior Ivica Dacic, his national security adviser Ivica Toncev, Head of Dacic’s Bureau Branko Lazarevic and Deputy Mind of Cabinet Vanja Vukic.

Those meetings were secretly recorded coarse the Security Information Agency (BIA). KRIK came into possession apparent the recordings and released them.

Witness associate Drasko Vukovic told significance court that at the achieve of 2008 one of excellence group’s chiefs told him make certain they had an insider distrust the Ministry of Police who was informing Radulovic on glory cocaine smuggling investigation.

Because cancel out that, they had to jaw the way they communicated spell switch from telephone to info strada communications. They started communicating feature Skype, e-mail, and via unsent draft messages.

Balkan Warrior

After the failed operation, honourableness next international team for say publicly investigation of Saric’s group was formed in collaboration with blue blood the gentry US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

The prosecution and the Asylum Information Agency (BIA) led rectitude investigation on Serbian part, dimension the police were excluded in arrears to the previous information leakage.

This team’s efforts led to rank international action named Balkan Warrior which started in October 2009. In addition to the duplicate parties, the Uruguayan and Argentinian police participated as well.

Not quite far from the Uruguayan seat of government Montevideo, 2.1 tons of cocain were found on the Maui luxury yacht. The drug was seized because the group bed demoted to transfer it on adjourn to an ocean-going ship dump would transport it to Continent. That same day, the Serb police arrested in Kragujevac Zeljko Vujanovic, a relative of Darko Saric, as well as many other persons suspected of paper members of the criminal division.

According to the testimony dispense his associate Nebojsa Jestrovic, Darko Saric went from Podgorica hitch Geneva that day for expert meeting with businessman Stanko Subotic.

Seizure of half a ton characteristic cocaine in Argentina

After following illustriousness members of the organisation bit Buenos Aires, the Argentine boys in blue discovered the house where birth group was keeping 490 kilograms of cocaine.

The drug, jammed in multicolored balloons, was misunderstand in a hidden partition footnote a lift pane in trivial old, lapsed house in Nov 2009.

Warrant for Saric

In January 2010, Serbia issued an international declare for Darko Saric. Before authority warrant was issued, Saric timetested to renounce his Serbian nationality and take a Montenegrin tune, for which the local control granted.

In his request stingy renunciation of Serbian citizenship, significant stated that he intended give somebody the job of return to his birthplace as his mother was ill see that he had lost fillet job in Serbia. However, jurisdiction request was rejected.

A month posterior, Milo Djukanovic, then Prime Preacher of Montenegro, confirmed in iron out interview for B92 that Saric had received guarantees for Montenegrin citizenship, but he also spoken that the police had groan known then that he difficult committed any criminal offence.

“We can talk about as multitudinous suspicions as we like, on the other hand we should not deprive hand out of basic rights, of fine right to citizenship, based solitary on suspicions. If you’ll suffer it, we are not abrasive him freedom by doing unexceptional. We are not awarding him the Nobel Prize,” said Djukanovic.

Indictments in Serbia

The first indictment cooperation cocaine smuggling was filed infant the Prosecutor’s Office for Unionized Crime in April 2010, rear 1 which four more indictments followed.

Another 36 people were full to bursting along with Saric. The nuisance began in September of dignity same year, and 11 subject were arrested at the peak of 2009 and at position beginning of 2010. Three defendants became witness associates, while cardinal members of the organisation mark plea deals with the examination in exchange for sentences broad from four to eleven time in prison.

Trial of group personnel in Slovenia

In May 2010, significance Slovenian police arrested 17 people that were part of high-mindedness Slovenian arm of the sort, which was headed by Dragan Tosic.

In the first trial run, four members of the grade were sentenced, while the plainness, including Tosic, were acquitted delineate charges, primarily because the retinue pulled from the evidence goodness eavesdropped phone conversations sent prep between the Serbian authorities to interpretation Slovenian Prosecutor’s Office.

The review was, however, set aside nearby a new trial was total. In repeated proceedings, in which Serbian evidence was used, Tosic got 16 and a equal part years in prison, and other 14 members of the array were sentenced. The judgement denunciation not yet final.

Saric’s letter disdain the media from “one Eurasiatic country”

In July 2010, Saric wrote a letter that he passed to the media through climax lawyer.

The letter was reportedly sent from “one Eurasian country”. He claimed that he was not the mastermind behind illustriousness drug clan and drug trades, and that he was train publicly lynched through the public relations and certain government structures disclose Serbia. He ended the note by saying that he was sorry that he could quite a distance personally declare everything and scheme a fair trial, and lose concentration he was forced to controvert lies in that way stomach ask for justice that “he will eventually have”.

Balls (Loptice) constabulary action

The police action Balls (Loptice), named after the balloons surround which the cocaine was packed in, was led by Mario Venditti and Miljko Radisavljevic, special prosecutors for organised crime in Italia and Serbia.

It began delight in November 2010, when the European Prosecutor’s Office issued warrants target 105 persons on suspicion earthly being part of a Peninsula drug cartel, which resulted disintegration arrest of 79 persons hutch Italy and 22 persons outlandish. Dusko Saric, brother of Darko Saric, was arrested in Montenegro on suspicion of being affected in drug smuggling and legal tender laundering.

Djukanovic’s family bank cooperated let fall Saric

Journalists of the research fabric Organised Crime and Corruption Proclamation Project (OCCRP) found out renounce Montenegro’s Prva Banka, controlled get by without the family of Prime Priest Milo Djukanovic, cooperated with Saric.

Saric deposited millions of euros in the bank and was an important client to whom the bank was approving wholly favorable conditions. The bank along with gave loans to companies wind were under control of Saric and his associates, as shown in the documentation obtained get by without the journalists. One such touring company is owned by controversial bourgeois Stanko Subotic, who raised excellent loan with Prva Banka household on the guarantee given toddler Saric’s company.

Read more imprison a different story.

Saric’s mysterious surrender

Two days after the early congressional elections in March 2014, as Aleksandar Vucic’s party won nationstate, Darko Saric arrived in Srbija in the early morning, funding almost five years on glory run. He arrived in ethics country by airplane and tag on the company of Security Wits Agency (BIA) agents.

To that date, the public has pule been informed in which realm Saric surrendered and how grandeur negotiation of the surrender was going. Saric changed his solicitor before surrendering. Radoslav Bacovic, erstwhile president of the Special Deadly in Belgrade, became his in mint condition defence lawyer. The power be successful attorney was signed by Saric’s mother.

Saric explained in court deviate he had surrendered because unquestionable felt that, because of blue blood the gentry change of the political nauseous in Serbia, he could accept a fair trial.

“This denunciation a fair trial now, Darko is not an enemy anymore.” He said that prior cheer the surrender he had bent hiding in the Dominican State 2 and that there had anachronistic several attempts from Serbia recognize negotiation, but he refused complete offers.

“I was offered to attest against (the officials of) Montenegro, later there was an intimation for (Ivica) Dacic, and rafter the end they offered clue to take a ten-year entreaty deal,” said Saric, adding depart such thing for him “wasn’t acceptable.”

One of the negotiation attempts is described in a billet regarding the interview with Rodoljub Milovic, then head of leadership Criminal Police Directorate (UKP).

Milovic said that he tried conjoin negotiate Saric’s surrender with Branko Micunovic, a famous member work at the Montenegrin underworld. The statement says that Micunovic asked Milovic to obtain information from glory prosecution about the level disregard sentence which Saric would accept if he surrendered. Micunovic ostensibly said that he would put down the assassination of Milorad Veljovic, the police chief, if representation agreement was not respected.

Milovic, regardless, conducted these negotiations on fillet own and without the prosecution’s knowledge.

When he did make known to Prosecutor Miljko Radisavljevic about everyday, the prosecutor did not compel to participate, so the wholesaler ended, the note states.

In break off interview with KRIK in Apr 2016, Aleksandar Vucic denied dump negotiations on the sentence-level be more exciting Saric ever took place.

Police information leakage trial

Branko Lazarevic, antecedent head of the Cabinet friendly Ivica Dacic, who was securing meetings with Radulovic at rank time when the cocaine was being smuggled, was charged infant September 2014 of providing comrades of the criminal group reach information on whether the constabulary were following and eavesdropping unit them.

As stated in prestige indictment, Lazarevic was in come close with two members of glory drug cartel – Radulovic most important Radovan Strbac, Saric’s attorney crammed with money laundering. His main Ivica Dacic introduced him oppress Radulovic in 2008, whom settle down presented as his good friend.

Lazarevic’s trial is coming to modification end, but without key testimony.

The judges have revoked magnanimity eavesdropped telephone conversations evidence go wool-gathering, according to the prosecution, convict that Lazarevic had provided far Saric’s close associates confidential record from the investigation. Among righteousness conversations were those of Dacic and Radulovic. The Trial Foreboding that eliminated the evidence was headed by Danko Lausevic, who chaired the chamber that produced the acquittal of Dacic’s body in the noted suitcase affair in 2010.

 “You’ve got me accompaniment Italy only”

Saric denied in make an attempt that he had anything keep do with cocaine smuggling.

Proscribed said that the whole instance was a put-up by description former government that wanted longing condition him to testify realize Montenegro. He repeated several time that the proceedings against him were led because he was tied to a “businessman who had to hide abroad owing to of politics,” referring probably merriment Stanko Subotic.

He also articulate that the testimonies of rendering witness associates, primarily that match his long-time friend Nebojsa Joksovic, were false and that Joksovic came up with the construct that he was the crowned head of the drug smuggling amiss organisation only to protect personally. Apart from the former authority (President Boris Tadic and Track of Justice Snezana Malovic), Saric also accused Inspector Rodoljub Milovic of being “the corrupt habitual Papaya” who had set bigger the evidence against him.

During combine of his appearances in bar, in response to the prosecutor’s questions, Saric said: “You’ve got me for Italy only vital nothing else.” Asked by distinction judge what he thought coarse that and what had precedent in Italy, he replied “What you accused me for,” nevertheless then corrected himself and avowed that none of the testimonies of witness associate Joksovic, who among other things said avoid Saric asked him to exhume a person that would buffalo hide 150 kilograms of cocaine superior the Italian police, was true.

Media campaigns and removals

The individuals focus participated in the investigations be paid Saric’s group were either transferred or demoted the year zigzag Saric surrendered.

Ivica Petrovic, ex- chief of the Security Brains Agency (BIA), who conducted rectitude drug cartel investigation right formerly Saric’s arrest, was demoted be selected for position of Security Intelligence Company (BIA) operative in Obrenovac. Problem-solving judge Dragan Lazarevic, who simple the eavesdropping and supervision provisions approvals, was transferred to substitute position in 2014.

The trial was followed by media campaigns, prestige texts were placed in tabloids to discredit the main send in the case against Saric – the police, prosecutors, keep from journalists that were covering grandeur case.

One part of rank campaign was directed against birth head of the Criminal Guard Department (UKP) Rodoljub Milovic, which led to his removal cloudless June 2014, several months aft Saric’s surrender. In an conversation with KRIK in 2016, Vucic said that there were visit reasons for his removal, nevertheless he could not speak frankly about it.

The second substance of the campaign was obliged against the Prosecutor’s Office storage space Organised Crime, when, among perturb things, the photo of high-mindedness prosecutor Sasa Ivanic was in print from the Ministry of Civil database. The photograph, as clean out was found, was leaked flight the Security Intelligence Agency (BIA).

After a few years, Saric, top lawyers, and many tabloids interior Serbia, continued with the have a shot to discredit witness associate Joksovic.

He was once Saric’s target friend and was the matchless one who told the case that he had received distinction information on cocaine smuggling use up Saric, which is why representation rebuttal of his testimony was of the utmost importance practise the defence.

Dusko Saric acquitted sharing charges

In April this year, Darko Saric’s brother Dusko was in the clear of charges for money plating in first instance judgement squeeze Montenegro.

He was acquitted mimic charges for cocaine smuggling concern 2013. In the first criticism for money laundering, Saric extremity Jovica Loncar were sentenced utter eight and six years have round prison respectively, but the interpretation was overturned. After that, significance Higher Court in Bijelo Polje sentenced Saric and Loncar duo more times to five trip a half years, but grandeur Court of Appeal overturned decency judgement each time.

Saric leading Loncar sued Montenegro for honourableness detention and demanded a unabridged of 370,000 euros in damages.

Judgement

In July 2015, Saric was sentenced to 20 years problem prison in a first case judgement.

He did not fancy to attend the judgement statement and was not brought nonthreatening person from custody. The Trial Body composed of three judges – Sinisa Petrovic, Vladimir Vucinic advocate Aleksandar Tresnjev, did not let go the judgement unanimously, which whorl that one of them difficult to understand a different opinion, but purge is a secret how last one of them voted.

A vintage later, the Court of Bring in overturned the judgment and spick-and-span a new trial.

In that case too, the decision was made by majority vote. Dignity court stated in the long that the judgment was inverted for several reasons – charge was not clearly written, Pronounce Vladimir Vucinic should not put on been a judge in Saric’s case because he participated nervous tension the confirmation of indictment, beginning the defendants should have bent tried under the older, milder law.

Removal of judges

Saric’s trial in progress over in September 2016, on the contrary the judges were changed.

At honesty beginning of 2016, Judge Vladimir Vucinic was removed from significance Special Court and assigned annoyance to the Palace of Virtue because, according to the Governor of the Court Aleksandar Stepanovic, his mandate expired.

Soon subsequently that, Vucinic left judgeship bear started doing  advocacy. As sand said in an interview delete KRIK, he did so as Stepanovic was pressuring him.

Two stage later, President of the Press one`s suit with Stepanovic transfered another judge evacuate Saric’s council – Aleksandar Tresnjev.

This way, the only one undone from the chamber which happen the conviction to Saric was its president Sinisa Petrovic.

Trial adjournments

The repeated trial of Saric’s travel was marked by frequent adjournments.

During 2017, the trial was adjourned more than 20 former. The number of adjournments was higher than the number provision trials held that year. Significance most common reason for end was illness of the lawyers, as well as the actuality that Saric canceled the stroke of attorney to his lawyers and requested an ex officio defence lawyer.

The precedent was made several times. For contingency, Judge Sinisa Petrovic postponed picture trial because of the designed lawsuit in which Saric sued a witness associate. Also, sizeable lawyers refused to represent say publicly defendants even though they difficult the authorization. Due to several delays, prosecutor Sasa Ivanic reacted saying that the adjournments lookout intended to prolong the measures in order to release Darko Saric from detention.

 

KRIK regularly followed Darko Saric’s experiment and published a number forfeit investigative stories that reveal rank links between this group keep from businessmen and politicians. Donate KRIK and help us continue address work.