Budimir Krstović and his daughter Marina Krstović were acquitted of smuggling 1.206 kilograms of cocaine. The first-instance verdict was pronounced yesterday in the courtroom of the High Court in Podgorica by judge Vesna Kovačević.
Immediately after the judge's words that the Krstovićs were freed and that they must be released immediately, thunderous applause broke through the crowded courtroom, accompanied by exclamations of delight. After the judge finished reading the explanation, Budmir Krstović spoke; "Thank you judge".
"The prosecution did not provide any evidence that the accused procured cocaine from unknown persons as stated in the indictment. In this regard, not a single piece of evidence was proposed by the authorized prosecutor, nor was the previous circumstance determined from all the evidence obtained and examined by the court at the main trial. The only thing that has been established with certainty is that the defendants ordered bananas from the company "COEXFRUIT SA from Ecuador, owned by Carlos Falquezi. It is not clear to the court on what basis the prosecution made the conclusion that the cocaine was loaded in the port of Bolivar, considering the testimony of the representative of the MSC company that provides the containers for the transport of goods. This witness said before the court that the loading of goods into containers is done at the supplier's plantations, in the specific case of Carlos Falkezi, and then that a driver from a logistics company hired by the supplier transports the container from the plantations to the port in Ecuador. It is unclear to the court how the prosecution established that the cocaine was loaded right in the port because not a single piece of evidence was provided in that direction," said judge Vesna Kovačević in explaining the verdict.
She added that based on the evidence, she concluded that several people could have accessed the container before the goods were inspected by the anti-narcotics unit in Ecuador - the supplier, the people who load the goods into the container, the driver who transports the container
"Cocaine could have been loaded at the plantations where bananas are loaded and on the way from the plantations to the port in Ecuador or directly somewhere near the port itself, but before the container was checked by the competent authorities. What has been established for sure is that the accused do not have access to the container and that they cannot control the loading of the goods in Ecuador, that is, they cannot control the container until it arrives at their warehouse", the judge stated and continued.
"The court does not have indisputable evidence that the accused procured cocaine from unknown persons as stated in the indictment. The indictment of the SDT charges that during July and August 2021, the Krstovićs acquired 26 kilograms of cocaine in Ecuador and on August 08, 2021, kept in their warehouse in the village of Mojanovići in Podgorica for further sale. In the way that during the purchase of bananas from a company from Ecuador, they acquired 1206,254 kilograms of cocaine packed in 1206,037 packages containing 48 cube-shaped packages. It follows that the defendants kept 1205 kilograms of cocaine in their warehouse, and previously acquired 1206,253 kilograms of cocaine from Ecuador from currently unknown persons. Which means that the defendants acquired less cocaine from unknown persons from Ecuador than they kept in their warehouse according to the indictment. Bearing this in mind, the court does not have the legal possibility to change the factual description of the act of committing the criminal act described in the indictment by adding greater criminal activity, because that would lead to an overreach of the accusation to the detriment of the defendants," said the judge.
She added that the prosecutor cited communication between Marina Krstović and Carlos Falkeze, from whom, according to the indictment, she ordered bananas as evidence in the direction of determining the procurement of cocaine.
"It is not in dispute that the said communications exist, but their content, the way the authorized prosecutor presents it, is in dispute. Originally, it was a disputed message that the accused Marina Krstović sent on July 23, 2021, containing: "It seems that in the 29th week the ship will bypass Port Bolivar, as I was told by MSC Serbia, they expect trouble there." However, as it was translated by a court interpreter for the Spanish language, it was written in English, that is, during the main hearing, a new court order determined the translation from a court interpreter for the English language. It was found that the words "expect trouble there" were wrongly translated and that the text does not mention trouble anywhere but the name of the port. Further analyzing the communication with Carlos Falkezi, from which it really follows that on 22/07/2021, the accused Marina Krstović sent the message "please pay attention to the quality", and the position of the prosecutor that these messages refer to the drug cocaine, the court appreciated the new translation by to the order of the court ordering the translation of the communication between Karlos Falkeze and Marina Krstović. It can be concluded from the communication that the accused Marina warns Carlos Falkeze about the quality of bananas, that she tells him that Budo is angry that he is paying for such fruit and that he will not buy fruit that is not of premium quality. The accused admonishes the supplier of bananas, Carlos Falkezi, to pay attention to the quality of the goods that were previously ordered and received from the aforementioned supplier. In the opinion of the court, everything indicates that the message "please watch the quality", reminds Falkezija to watch the quality of the bananas and not to watch the quality of the cocaine. It remains unclear whether the defendants obtained the cocaine from an unknown person from Carlos Falkezi. When this is brought into connection with the indictment, which the court is absolutely bound by, it is clear that it contradicts the evidence referred to by the prosecutor, because the indictment states that the accused acquired cocaine from unknown persons and only bananas from Carlos Falkezi ", said the judge in explaining the first-instance acquittal verdict.
The higher state prosecutor's office filed an indictment against Budimir and Marina Krstović on December 23 last year. They were arrested after the police found and seized more than a ton of cocaine in the Zeta village of Mojanovići, near Podgorica, on August 24, 2021. They denied guilt during the trial.
Lawyer: The Krstovićs are innocent
Lawyer Đukanović especially emphasized that the Krstović family "suffered Golgotha" in just over 15 months that they were in custody.
"Today's verdict reads exactly as it should, that is, that our defendants were acquitted of the charges. That's what the defense claimed from the first day to the last, that they were innocent. Here, the point of the story is to tell and say that these are completely innocent people. You make a difference when you say 'no evidence' and someone is 'innocent'. Judge Kovačević's reasoning is bold, clear and loud. In it, she said everything that was missed in the investigation, and if the prosecution had done that, the indictment would not have been filed. The Krstović family will certainly initiate all procedures for compensation. Because believe me, both morally and materially and in any sense, this family has suffered calvary in these 15 months, said Đukanović.
Politicians should return to the Assembly and not comment on court decisions
Lawyer Bojana Franović told reporters that this trial is a message for the police and the prosecution that the investigation should be done and that Judge Vesna Kovačević showed them this at the main trial.
"I think it's time for everyone to get serious, stick to their work and not comment on what we don't know how to do. The best message for politicians today is to return to the Assembly and to solve the political crisis in the country, to do what they can, and to let us do our work. They should not comment on the court's decisions until they become final, we will not comment much on them either, except within the scope of our powers," said Franović.
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