SERBIA: FINGERPOINTING CONTINUES IN MAJOR ORGANIZED CRIME

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BELGRADE 000035

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/02/24
TAGS: PREL PGOV SNAR KCRM SR MW
SUBJECT: SERBIA: FINGERPOINTING CONTINUES IN MAJOR ORGANIZED CRIME
CASE

REF: 10 BELGRADE 29; 10 PODGORICA 25; 09 BELGRADE 212
09 BELGRADE 469

CLASSIFIED BY: Mary Warlick, Ambassador, State, EXEC; REASON: 1.4(B),
(D)

Summary

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1. (C) Serbian efforts to crack down on narcotics trafficking and
organized crime have led to several arrests, including in the
Operation Balkan Warrior case, which began with Serbian cooperation
in seizing two tons of cocaine in October 2009. Montenegrin-born
organized crime figure Darko Saric has been implicated in the case,
but cooperation between Montenegro and Serbia has faltered as both
sides have traded accusations that there is no will to see the case
through. The case became further complicated with press
allegations of high-level Serbian Interior Ministry links to Saric.
Our police contacts tell us there is some truth to the rumors and
they are seeing signs of political interference. However, Interior
Minister Dacic, who is concerned about his reputation, and the
Presidential Administration, which is eager to achieve progress in
the fight against organized crime, are unlikely to let the case
fall apart. End Summary.



Serbia Steps up Anti-Narcotics Efforts

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2. (SBU) Serbian police have stepped up domestic efforts and
international cooperation over the past few months to combat
narcotics trafficking. Serbian authorities cooperated with the
U.S. and other countries in the seizure of over two tons of cocaine
off the coast of Uruguay in October 2009 in Operation Balkan
Warrior. That same month, Serbian police conducted the nationwide
Operation Morava, to arrest domestic drug dealers. Since October,
the Morava operation has continued, and there have been periodic
arrests in connection with Operation Balkan Warrior. Both
operations were highly publicized, and Interior Minister Ivica
Dacic - as well as President Tadic and other senior GOS officials
-- regularly mentions them, noting that combating organized crime,
narco-trafficking, and corruption are their highest priorities. As
further examples of his efforts, Dacic also touts regular
cooperation with Bosnia, Montenegro, Croatia, and EU countries (Ref
A).




3. (SBU) On January 28, press reports indicated that Serbia had
requested an Interpol Red Notice for Montenegro-born Serbian
organized crime figure Darko Saric in connection with the Balkan
Warrior Case (Ref B). Serbian press reported that Montenegrin
authorities had searched Saric's property in Montenegro but failed
to find Saric himself. Serbian police also arrested five more
individuals connected to the case. Press reported that on February
8, Montenegrin police arrested two Saric associates, Goran Sokovic
and Dejan Sekulovac, both Montenegrin citizens who could therefore
not be extradited to Serbia. Serbia's Special Court for Organized
Crime is currently conducting a pre-trial investigation before
filing formal charges. On February 16, the Special Court ordered
seizure of Saric's Serbian assets.



Mudslinging with Montenegro

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4. (SBU) Trouble between Serbia and Montenegro appeared shortly
after the February 8 Sokovic and Sekulovac arrests, when it became
public that Saric was seeking Montenegrin citizenship. (Saric, a
Serbian citizen, reportedly began the process of renouncing Serbian
citizenship and seeking Montenegrin citizenship shortly after
Balkan Warrior began. In order to complete this process, the
Serbian government would have to release him from Serbian
citizenship, which is not likely under current circumstances.) On
February 9, the press quoted Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo
Djukanovic as saying that there were no obstacles to Saric
obtaining Montenegrin citizenship, a statement widely interpreted
in Serbia as Montenegrin willingness to protect Saric from
prosecution. Montenegro subsequently disregarded a Serbian request
for extension of detention and released Sokovic and Sekulovac,
citing a lack of evidence from Serbia.




5. (C) This action set off a string of well-publicized barbs
between Serbian and Montenegrin officials. Serbian officials
accused Montenegro of lacking the will to cooperate and of
protecting Saric. Montenegrin officials were quoted accusing
Serbia of not arresting Saric when they had the chance and of
trying to "destabilize" Montenegro. On February 17 the Montenegro
police stated publicly that Saric was not in Montenegro while the
Serbian police continued to insist that all information pointed to
him being there. (Note: Our contacts tell us that Serbian police
and officials in reality agree that Saric is not in Montenegro.)
In order to resolve the problems of cooperation, Montenegrin
Justice Minister Miras Radovic will travel to Belgrade on Thursday,
February 25 to meet Serbian Justice Minister Snezana Malovic.




6. (C) In a February 22 meeting with DAS Stu Jones in Belgrade,
Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said the GoS was serious about taking
on the fight against organized crime. Jeremic asked that in
addition to the intelligence support the DEA is giving the GoS,
Washington now needed to give Serbia "political" support in order
to resolve the political difficulties Serbia was having with
Montenegro over the case. Jeremic said both President Tadic and
Presidential Advisor Miki Rakic had taken on this organized crime
fight at personal risk to themselves, stressing that the criminals
had significant political influence due to the "billions of
dollars" at their disposal. DAS Jones also raised the case during
a February 23 meeting with Tadic's National Security Advisor, Miki
Rakic, who said indicated Serbia was reluctant to share information
with Montenegro at this early stage of the case due to concern that
doing so might cut off current GOS investigation efforts. Rakic
said three key suspects in the case had been released by the
Montenegrin police despite notices from Argentina and Serbia in two
cases, and Denmark and Serbia in the third. Rakic welcomed the
meeting later this week between the two countries' justice
ministers and emphasized that Serbia had no political agenda apart
from achieving real results in this case.



Leaks and Links with Serbian Police?

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7. (SBU) Meanwhile, the local media has speculated that there were
leaks in the investigation and possible ties between Interior
Minister Dacic's staff and Saric. On February 5, Belgrade daily
Blic alleged that Dacic Chief of Cabinet Branko Lazarevic had ties
to Saric, noting that two close Saric associates were on the
managing board of a company owned by Lazarevic's brother-in-law
Nikola Dmitrijevic. Lazarevic himself once held a 40% share in the
company, which he reportedly sold before the Saric associates
invested. Press shortly afterward began reporting that Saric had
been tipped off that he was a suspect in the Balkan Warrior case,

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enabling him to evade arrest and probably otherwise hamper the
investigation. Dacic told reporters on February 11 that he had
ordered an investigation into the allegations and would resign if
it turned out that his chief of staff had links to organized crime.
He emphasized that he completely supported the investigation.




8. (C) The Ministry of Interior is being extremely tight-lipped
about the allegations against Lazarevic, but some police contacts
tell us they are concerned about political interference in the
Saric investigation now that Dacic's closest advisor has been
implicated. Some contacts have told us that there is substance to
the allegations about connections to Lazarevic (a businessman
before taking the job as Dacic's top advisor). According to
contacts, Dacic made Lazarevic responsible for the continued Balkan
Warrior investigation, including determining if there were any
leaks from Interior. Lazarevic assigned the latter task to MUP's
Internal Control Chief, Dragoljub Radovic, who our contacts tell us
was instructed to investigate every police officer on the Balkan
Warrior case. (Note: Radovic has an uneasy relationship with
Police Director Veljovic, who is popular within the ranks of
police.) Police working on the case are now reportedly fearful
that they may be transferred, forcing new officers to start from
scratch and weakening the investigation.



Comment

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9. (C) The battle against organized crime that President Tadic
announced in March 2009 (Ref C) has produced notable breakthroughs,
including the June 2009 arrest of mafia kingpin Joca Amsterdam (Ref
D) and the October 2009 cocaine seizure in Balkan Warrior. There
are significant obstacles to success in the Saric investigation,
however. Conflicts within the Ministry of Interior, where the old
guard resents and distrusts Dacic and his inner circle of advisors,
at times impede work and give rise to suspicions that allegations
such as those against Lazarevic are motivated by personal animus.
We judge it unlikely that Dacic, fresh from his visit to the United
States, will allow even his most trusted advisor to damage his
hard-won reputation as an effective Interior Minister; to preserve
his credibility Dacic will have to ensure that the allegations
against Lazarevic are fully investigated, and take decisive action
if they are substantiated. Strained relations with Montenegro, due
in part to its establishment of diplomatic relations with Kosovo,
have also made it more difficult to work this challenging
transnational case. The attention being given to this case by
President Tadic's closest advisors, as well as his own personal
engagement, suggest that this has become a serious priority for the
government. We are also hopeful that the engagement of Justice
Minister Malovic, a pragmatic interlocutor who generally avoids
politicizing sensitive issues, will help get cooperation with
Montenegro back on track. End Comment.
WARLICK