Montenegrin prisons are the key "recruitment centers" of clans - the leaders of organized criminal groups find new "soldiers" in them, paying them lawyers and providing protection, and the core of criminal groups is tightly connected, usually through family, friendship or godfather ties.
This is written in the Risk Assessment of Serious and Organized Crime (SOCTA 2021), which was recently done by an interdepartmental team that included representatives of the intelligence and security sector, with the support of representatives of the prosecution organization.
Officials explain that despite the numerous activities of law enforcement authorities that resulted in the prosecution and arrest of leaders and high-ranking members of organized criminal groups, a trend of constant strengthening of their internal structure has been registered:
"Through continuous engagement of new members and tighter ties with regional and transnational criminal structures. Institutions for the execution of criminal sanctions, where leaders and high-ranking members of organized criminal groups already reside, continue to represent a key 'recruitment center' for new members, through methods of providing protection, hiring lawyers, various forms of financial support and numerous other benefits, and ensure the engagement of new members ", the document says.
It was clarified that the structure of high-risk organized criminal groups remained relatively solid and was based on a clear hierarchical structure, with pronounced roles of leaders and key members:
"With several cells or branches, which have their headquarters outside the borders of Montenegro, a clear division of tasks, specialization in the implementation of certain criminal activities and respect for the rules of internal discipline and a strategic commitment to the use of violence. A trend of constant strengthening of their internal structure has been registered through continuous engagement of new members and tighter ties with regional and transnational criminal structures".
It was clarified that ten high-risk organized criminal groups are active in Montenegro, the largest number of which has more than 30 members.
In the public version of the Assessment, it is not specified which clans they are, and there is no information that was previously given to "Vijesti" from the security sector - that the largest criminal groups have more than 200 members each.
The authorities concluded that, compared to SOCTA 2017, there was a decrease in the number of organized criminal groups - there were 11 of them then.
"Due to the continuous strengthening of various segments of the activities of the Criminal Investigation Department, which are partly caused by the joining of smaller criminal groups responsible for the realization of specific criminal activities, it can be concluded that the structure of organized criminal groups has remained relatively solid, and that as such it is based on the expressed roles of leaders and high-ranking members, a clear division of tasks, specialization in the implementation of certain criminal activities and compliance with the rules of internal discipline," the document says.
Members of the security sector explain that, as in the previous period, the structure of a large number of organized criminal groups operating in the territory of Montenegro is characterized by a solid core:
"Composed of individuals, connected by family or long-term friendships, around whom a circle of permanent members is arranged, whereby these segments of the internal structure are characterized by many years of experience in conducting criminal activities on a transnational level".
Cells for special tasks
Montenegrin clans have assigned roles to their members - some of their branches specialize in cocaine smuggling, others are tasked with killing or organizing serious crimes.
The interdepartmental team that made the Assessment concluded that a special segment of the structure of high-risk criminal groups is represented by their various cells:
"In other words, the branches, which in some cases are specialized in carrying out specific criminal activities, e.g. the organization of narcotics smuggling or the organization of the commission of serious crimes against life and limb, which are positioned at the key points of the implementation of criminal activities in Montenegro and abroad".
It was clarified that the dominant criminal activity of organized criminal groups from the territory of Montenegro is still drug smuggling:
"Championship of cocaine at the international level".
They also state that there have been no significant changes in the way of working in the implementation of that criminal activity.
Clans "spread" across Europe, eliminating competition
It is characteristic that, in the last four years, Montenegrin clans have formed a network of associates responsible for the distribution of narcotics in the territory of several Western European countries, the document says.
They also state that in the same period, their active participation in the production of large quantities of marijuana on plantations and in laboratories in certain European countries - Germany and Spain - was recorded, as well as the organization of further smuggling and distribution.
"Strategic directions based on the elimination of competition, the establishment of a monopolistic and dominant position on the criminal market, which also includes the control of all important smuggling flows, determined one of the key segments of the activities of organized criminal groups - the use of violence and the execution of serious crimes against life and limb" , the document says.
In the public version of the SOCTA document, the authorities admitted that conflicts between criminal groups are not limited only to the territory of Montenegro.
They also state that, bearing in mind the fact of strong regional connections between organized criminal groups from the territory of Montenegro and those from the territory of the countries of the region, primarily Serbia, the conflicts between these clans are cause-and-effect connected with the conflicts on the territories of the countries of the region, but also of certain European countries and the world.
"In the conflicts of the mentioned organized criminal groups in Montenegro and the countries of the region during the reporting period, more than 60 serious crimes against life and limb were committed".
Authorities have registered that criminals invest dirty money in construction activities, real estate purchases, tourist complexes, catering, organization of games of chance:
"On the territory of Montenegro, as well as on the territory of other countries. Private companies that have existed for many years, and which are engaged in the previously mentioned jobs, are often used for the aforementioned activities.
The assessment of the danger of serious and organized crime was carried out by the National Interdepartmental Team, which includes representatives of the Police Administration, the National Security Agency, the Revenue and Customs Administration, the Supreme State Prosecutor's Office, and the Special State Prosecutor's Office.
Clans increasingly brutal and ruthless
Escalation of the conflict between organized criminal groups has caused a change in the way they operate, so more and more people are being targeted by opposing organized criminal groups, regardless of their position and role:
"And in some cases, the families of members of opposing OKGs are also targets of attacks. In this way, the number of potential victims increases significantly, which greatly complicates the activities of law enforcement authorities in undertaking preventive measures and actions to prevent the commission of serious crimes," SOCTA 2021 writes.
The authorities point out that an additional dimension of the seriousness of the conflict between organized criminal groups is given by the change in the mode of execution of serious crimes, which is reflected in the increasingly frequent use of explosive devices of strong destructive power, but also in the execution of these murders in locations where a large number of people gather:
"What we must state is that it indicates an increasing recklessness in achieving the desired goal. However, the mode of realization of these criminal activities with a level of recklessness that was not registered during earlier years, which was manifested through kidnappings and the application of the most brutal methods when committing serious crimes to the detriment of members of opposing organized criminal groups, is of particular concern.
This, the document says, also creates new challenges for law enforcement authorities in the part related to the prevention, investigation of criminal offenses and the collection of appropriate evidence necessary for the continuation of procedural activities.
Officials point out that the fact that law enforcement officers are also targeted by organized criminal groups is of particular concern:
"What is indicated by the processed cases in which, due to professional engagement, the targets of planned attacks were officials of intelligence and security sector bodies and holders of responsible positions in the justice and prosecution systems".
They corrupt low-ranking civil servants
Members of organized criminal groups use original biometric documents of countries in the region, which they obtained fraudulently, by corrupting civil servants.
It is written in SOCTA 2021, with the explanation that members of organized criminal groups, in addition to corrupt activities aimed at lower-ranking officials of the state administration of the countries of the region, obtain personal data of deceased or internally displaced persons.
"Which they use when submitting falsified documents for the issuance of biometric documents".
They talk through the "crypt", they monitor everything around them with cameras
Criminals use state-of-the-art communication technology, with a high level of crypto protection and implement sophisticated counter-surveillance measures, the document says.
The authorities also noted what "Vijesti" wrote about six years ago - that members of certain organized criminal groups at key locations in the cities where they operate installed modern video-surveillance systems at positions in the city core:
"Which enabled them to constantly monitor all events in public places, as well as plan the execution of serious crimes".
The price of cocaine jumps during the summer
The relationship between demand and supply of narcotics changes significantly during the summer tourist season, when significant changes were also registered in the part related to the prices of narcotics intended for local distribution, writes the Assessment.
It was also clarified that the price of cocaine intended for street sale ranges from 35.000 to 40.000 euros per kilogram, while further distribution is carried out at a price of 70 to 100 euros per gram, but that during the summer tourist season in the area of coastal municipalities there is a significant increase in the price :
"Whereas the price of a gram of cocaine ranges from 100 to 150 euros".
"The establishment of a stable network for the distribution of cocaine during the summer tourist season, especially in the municipalities on the Montenegrin coast, is significantly contributed by the presence of high-paying clientele, as well as a branched network of associates involved in the provision of various types of services and the organization of various types of entertainment and nightlife" .
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