Eight smuggling suspects in prison, single women and police officers

The investigating judge of the Podgorica High Court, Miroslav Bašović, ordered eight people suspected of human smuggling who were arrested in the "Monika" operation to be detained for up to 30 days.

After interrogation, Ljubomir Đedović (39), Vladimir Perošević (33), Dragan Dragutinović (62), Milenko Dragutinović (58), Željko Dragutinović (23), Mitar Kecojević (50), Darko Mijušković (33), Ratko Kadović were taken to the Investigation Prison. (66).

Bašović accepted the proposal of the special state prosecutor, Mira Samardžić, to order their detention due to the risk of escape and influence on witnesses.

Anđela Perošević (31) and Svetlana Aleksić (40) were given surveillance measures, and the police officers Radomir Stojović (49) and Aco Kalpačina (46) were released to defend themselves after being heard by special prosecutor Mira Samardžić.

SDT labeled Đedović as the organizer of a criminal group that smuggled migrants from the border with Albania to Bosnia and Herzegovina from January until two days ago. During the hearing, Đedović defended himself by remaining silent.

Twelve members of the criminal group were arrested yesterday morning in Danilovgrad, Nikšić, Podgorica and Herceg Novi.

The Police Administration announced that this action broke a strong network of people smugglers. Inspectors from the Department for Suppression of Smuggling, Human Trafficking and Illegal Migration monitored them for months, and one of the investigators' key pieces of evidence are the secret surveillance measures that were carried out by order of the investigating judge.

SDT files state that the suspects smuggled at least 250 citizens of Syria, Pakistan and Eritrea from January until their arrest, 32 of whom investigators were able to identify. Đedović's task was to find migrants who were paying him to transfer them to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the task of most of the suspects who were detained was to transport them to Riđan, near Nikšić, from where they were illegally transferred to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

According to SDT's suspicions, before being transferred to Bosnia and Herzegovina, the migrants were hidden in the house of Milen Dragutinović in Riđani, but also in apartments in Nikšić. In the files of the SDT, it is stated that members of the criminal group were arrested in the operation Monika and some other persons, whose identification is being worked on.