AAlexander Aco Mijajlović he was at the head of the cigarette smuggling scheme, according to an official document of the Revenue and Customs Administration from August 2022.
That man from Podgorica and seven other people, including police officers, were arrested yesterday on suspicion of having committed criminal acts - the creation of a criminal organization and the extended criminal offense of smuggling.
The sources of Vijesti claim that the months-long action resulted in the destruction of the very top of the so-called Grand team, but that the list of those arrested is not final... Apparently, the owners of another company from Podgorica are also on that list.
According to this information, Mijajlović was in charge of international cigarette smuggling, coordinating the ships that sailed into the Port of Bar.
Several officials of the previous government referred to these persons as the main cigarette smugglers: "These people are at the head of the criminal pyramid," said the former prime minister. Dritan Abazovic, after it was sold by the company Bemax, its owner Ranko Ubović, Mijajlovic and a former security guard Zoran Lazovic sued for defamation because he labeled them criminals.
Special prosecutor and spokesperson of the Special State Prosecutor's Office (SDT) Vukas Radonjic, explained to Vijesti that the action was carried out in cooperation with the European intelligence agency (EUROPOL), which for years has been providing local investigators with material on the basis of which dozens of people allegedly connected to organized crime were arrested.
"Officials of the Special Police Department, with the assistance of officers of the Anti-Crime Sector, deprived AM (Mijajlović), GV (Golub Vojinović), DJ (Dejan Jokic), DB (Dragan Backovic), MM (Mirko Mijušković) and RR (Radoje Rabrenović), due to the grounds of suspicion that they committed the criminal offense of creating a criminal organization and the extended criminal offense of smuggling. "The suspects will be taken to the special prosecutor for questioning within the legal term," said Radonjić.
After them, two more people were arrested, one of them Milan Vukadanović.
Mijalović's name is not officially in the Bemax company, although he has been known for years as a co-owner of that construction giant.
However, he is the director of the company "Alec Montenegro", whose founder is Bemax. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the company "Arena B", whose founder is also officially Ubović's company. He is also an authorized representative of the company "S & I INVEST", whose owner is also Bemax.
His legal representative, a lawyer Zoran Piperović announced to "Vijesti" that the police did not find anything compromising during the search of the apartment of that man from Podgorica.
"They took away the gold coin that his child received at birth, two children's laptops, a watch and a car," said the lawyer after the search.
The arrested Backović was the head of the Border Police in Nikšić for years, and Vijesti's sources claim that he was the main logistician for that team for smuggling cigarettes to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In March 2021, the former State Secretary in the MUP, Rade Milošević, said that he had evidence that Backović would politically pressure the employees of that station and make lists with the names of family members...
He too was later suspected of cigarette smuggling.
Both the arrested Mijušković and Rabrenović are active members of the police.
SMUGGLING SCHEME
In the smuggling scheme that the Customs Administration submitted to the Government on August 25, 2022, it is stated that Ubović and Mijajlović are at the head of the Grand clan, i.e. the pyramid, which smuggled several brands of cigarettes: "Merlin", "Trokadrero", "FM", "King" and "Manchester".
According to that document, one branch of smuggling then led to the "Playmaker" company of the recently arrested man Đorđija Đok Pavićević, also on charges of cigarette smuggling.
That document mentions at least two other companies engaged in the same illegal business.
News has no information on whether that scheme is part of the evidence available to investigators.
"Based on the operational activities of the Revenue and Customs Administration officials, we came to operational knowledge that a part of the cigarettes was placed on the gray market in the territory of Montenegro through illegal channels, while the other, i.e., a larger part, was distributed to neighboring countries, and they were hidden in "stock locations" in warehouses on the wider territory of Podgorica - Tuzi, Danilovgrad and the like. According to operational data, the aforementioned criminal activities were supported and secured by a company from Podgorica... which, among other things, provided logistical support to related persons and team members of the so-called BEMAX clan," the document states.
It says that based on the operative data of the officers of the Customs Security and Control Sector, they obtained reliable information that the "Grand" clan was the organizer of the illegal flow of cigarettes inside and outside the territory of Montenegro, which had been going on for decades...
"Whose organizers are Ranko Ubović and Aco Mijajlović, and today's so-called 'BEMAX' - a construction company, which, according to operational regulations, in addition to legal business, also deals with the smuggling of tobacco products - cigarettes and other illegal activities. Officers of this sector, working in the field, came to the operative knowledge that the persons who make up the so-called BEMAX group, in the course of their activities, delivered cigarettes to the Free Zone of the Port of Bar by foreign ships, one of which was identified as RAFAELO".
It is explained that according to the agreement, the goods were stored in the Free Zone of the Port of Bar, so that later, after creating opportunities for smugglers, i.e. creating a favorable moment on the part of the organizers, they would enter the further procedure of illegal transit through Montenegro. This activity, according to operational plans, was strongly supported in the previous period by certain high-ranking members of the Police Administration who are involved in criminal structures, as evidenced by numerous reports of EUROPOL and international investigations," the document states.
In 2013, Golub Vojinović's Mercedes jeep was set on fire. The public is not aware if this case has ever been solved. The owner of the jeep then said that he did not know who could have done it, explaining that he had no enemies
Abazović: They damaged the country for billions of euros
The Deputy Prime Minister and coordinator of the Bureau for Operational Coordination, Aleksa Bečić, announced that by numerous prosecutions and arrests of police officers, they are fulfilling their promise to clean up the security sector.
"With these actions, we send a clear message to all criminal elements that there is no place for them in our society. "Our commitment to the fight against all forms of crime, especially cigarette smuggling, is unwavering and there will be no compromise when it comes to preserving law and order," said Bečić.
He praised the courage and professionalism of the SPO and SDT members, adding that their cooperation was crucial in the realization of that action.
"This is a great day for justice," said the leader of the URA Civic Movement Dritan Abazović yesterday.
He claims that, according to operational information, that clan damaged Montenegro for billions of euros.
"After I stated two years ago that people from the 'Grand' clan (owners of Bemax and the rest of the team) are at the top of the criminal pyramid in Montenegro, I became a daily target of their dirty campaign and whispering divisions that finance, or are emotionally corrupted by supposed concern for the state. When that didn't help either, they resorted to threats and activated private lawsuits and ongoing court processes. Today, the hand of justice has finally reached some of them, and I believe that others who have fallen foul of the law will have a similar fate. I repeat, the 'Grand' clan, according to operational estimates, damaged the state of Montenegro for billions of euros, and that was the exclusive and only reason why they were the main target of my government," said the former prime minister.
Abazović congratulated the chief special prosecutor Vladimir Novović, his associates and the head of the Special Police Department, Predrag Šuković.
The Europe Movement has now announced that they fully support the actions carried out by SDT in the fight against organized crime and corruption:
"And they are proof that judicial institutions in Montenegro are independent and functional, said that party"...
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