The cocaine arrived on January 2, customs officers discovered it on the 11th.

More than half a ton of cocaine in a shipment of bananas intended for the company "Voli" was found two days ago by customs officials in the Port of Bar, and the Special State Prosecutor's Office (SDT) and the Police Directorate (UP) were informed about this, "Vijesti" has learned unofficially.

After instructions from the authorities to skip the shipment, in order to control the delivery, the bananas were loaded into the trucks of that trading company yesterday, from which, after arriving at the warehouse, they called the police.

Neither SDT nor UP answered the questions of "Vijesti" yesterday about that seizure, nor did they give the details to the public.

The company "Voli" did not answer the questions about the found cocaine either.

Until late last night, no one had been arrested in that action, the Police Directorate told "Vijesti".

According to "Vijesti" information, the shipment of bananas arrived in the port of Bar on January 2. That contingent was ordered through the company of a Montenegrin citizen who has been living and doing business in Slovenia for years.

One of the interlocutors said that the shipment was only scheduled for inspection and transshipment on January 11.

Unofficially, several sources involved in the investigation said that the workers of the Voli company, when they were reloading bananas in the warehouse, also discovered suspicious packages.

The Police Administration did not explain when they found out about the suspicious shipment, nor whether they were waiting for someone to distribute them beyond the warehouse of the trade chain.

An interlocutor from the security sector said late last night that the packages found in the warehouse contained more than half a ton of a white substance suspected to be cocaine.

"SRB" and "RSB" are written on those packages.

The customs house in Port Bar has not had a manager since January 1, because the acting status of Željko Ivanović expired on December 31. The current Acting President Milena Petričević did not extend Ivanovic's status.

Prava Montenegro announced yesterday that they were provided with photos showing, "as suspected, a large amount, according to all indications, of cocaine" in a package of bananas.

They called on the institutions to react urgently, and the president of the party and MP Marko Milačić requested the arrest of the owner of the company "Voli" Dragan Bokan.

The Democratic Front called on the authorities to reward the storekeepers of the Voli company.

The drugs found yesterday were not the first to be discovered in a shipment of bananas intended for the Voli company - in June 2018, a container with about 30 kilograms of cocaine was delivered by ship from Ecuador.

The precious white powder was then found in the container of the company "Maersk".

Bananas are usually loaded in the port of Guayaquil, and "Maersk" is the transport company that distributes them around the world.

Although the top of the Police Administration then unofficially announced that the importer of that delivery was "Voli", the company replied that no drugs were found in their shipment of bananas.

The police and the prosecutor's office never officially announced whose bananas cocaine was found at the time.

At the end of August, Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapić said at a conference after the seizure of more than a ton of cocaine, that bananas and cocaine have been a problem in Montenegro for years.

"You have a case when in the Assembly in 2019 that problem was directly related to the company 'Voli'. And then no one, not even you, was persistent in asking why he was not prosecuted, where exactly in that container there was cocaine", answered Krivokapić to the "Vijesti" reporter at the time.

However, he did not explain why he was moving the ball to the journalist's court.

They tweet but don't send announcements

Yesterday, instead of a press release, the Ministry of Internal Affairs published a tweet in which, as they say, Minister Sergej Sekulović congratulated "the successful seizure of hundreds of kilograms of drugs."

"Cooperation of authorities at a high level", was published on that Twitter account in which the Ministry of Interior, the Police Directorate, the Directorate of Revenue and Customs and the Prosecutor's Office were tagged, then it was written: "Strongly in the protection of citizens and citizens of Montenegro".

On that social network, the Deputy Prime Minister and security services coordinator Dritan Abazović praised the action, who confirmed that it was several hundreds of kilograms of cocaine.

"After five months, another huge seizure of cocaine in Montenegro. We continue our joint fight against drug cartels. Determined, courageous and without compromise", wrote Abazović.

He also congratulated the members of the National Security Agency, the Police Directorate, the Special State Prosecutor's Office, the Revenue and Customs Administration, as well as international partners, the Sector for Combating Organized Crime, the Special Police Department and conscientious citizens.

Bokan asked that everything be checked

The owner of the company "Voli" Dragan Bokan has repeatedly addressed the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Customs Administration in the past months with a request that all shipments for his company be carefully checked.

As one source from the MUP told "Vijesta", Bokan explained that he did not want the media to accuse him of smuggling cocaine, and another source from the MUP stated that he offered to help buy a scanner in order to control everything he imports.

The source of "Vijesti" from the Revenue and Customs Administration states that the company "Voli" sent letters almost every day in which they insisted that the customs officials inspect everything imported for them as strictly as possible.