Swords, sabers, crossbows and yataghans worth around 280.000 euros, as well as three motorcycles, were seized from accused criminal group member Mileta Božović.
The property of this alleged member of the criminal group Vaso Ulic and Radoje Zvicer was temporarily seized on suspicion that it was acquired through criminal activity.
Accepting the request of the Special State Prosecutor's Office (SDT), the decision was made by the investigative judge of the Higher Court in Podgorica, Suzana Mugoša.
The motorcycles "KTM", "Outlander Can Am" and "Husqvarna TE 610", which were temporarily seized from this Beranec, are owned by the company "Excalibur MNE", of which he is the founder.
Among the 161 swords, sabers, knives, scimitars, crossbows... whose estimated value is 280.490,00 euros, are antiques from Venice, Japan, the Caucasus, Constantinople, Albania, Bosnia, South Africa...
39 sabers, 30 scimitars, 13 swords, 47 knives, 14 Japanese swords - Wakizashi, two crossbows, as well as 16 sticks, razors, kani, souvenirs... were seized from Božović.
Several yatagans were made in Greece, a large number of sabers and knives in Turkey, some of the antiques are from Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania...
The sabers that were taken from him were made in Persia, Russia, Austria-Hungary, and some knives in Russia, Germany, the Caucasus...
Katanas and Japanese swords - wakizashi - came from Japan, and some swords and sabers came from the Venetian Republic...
Knives made during the last century in the territory of the then Yugoslavia were confiscated, as well as souvenirs and replicas of knives from Pakistan, China, India, South Africa...
"That the defendant has large amounts of cash in his possession stems from transcripts of encrypted communications he made with other members of the criminal organization via the Sky application, and there is reasonable suspicion that the movable property he owns - the vehicles in question, as follows from data from civil status records, are not registered in the name of the defendant Božović Mileta, in relation to the 'Outlander Can Am' motorcycle, without license plates, and the 'Husqvarna TE 610' motorcycle, which was also confirmed during the seizure, because the vehicles in question were seized from him without traffic licenses, originate from criminal activity, and there is also a suspicion that the turnover on the personal and business accounts of this person, who is also the responsible person in the legal entity 'Excalibur' DOO from Berane, is not in accordance with the manner of acquiring that property and does not reflect the actual financial situation and lifestyle of the defendant and persons related to him," the decision accepting the proposal of the SDT states.
"The investigating judge also took into account the defense's allegations that the defendant has been a collector since 2013 and that the items were acquired through inheritance, gifts or purchase, but did not accept them in the absence of any evidence to that effect," Judge Suzana Mugoša's ruling states.
Judge Mugoša explains that, when it comes to other movable property, in addition to the evidence and data explained in detail in the proposals, the suspicion that it is property acquired through criminal activity is also confirmed by the findings and opinion of the expert in the field of antiquities and ethnology, Goran Bubanja.
"During the criminal investigation, the Special State Prosecutor's Office issued Order Kti-S No. 19/24 of 10.10.2024 October 29, which ordered an expert examination of antique weapons in order to determine the origin, type and value of the marked antiques. Acting on the aforementioned order, the court expert in the field of antiquities and ethnology submitted to this prosecutor's office a report and opinion dated 11 November 2024, from which it follows that the estimated value of the weapons, i.e. antiques, examined up to that point amounts to 249.840,00 euros, while after this examination, an assessment of the value of the remaining weapons, i.e. antiques, was carried out, for which he submitted a report and opinion on 10 December 12, and based on this opinion, it follows that the total estimated value of all the examined antique weapons on the date of the examination amounts to 2024 euros," the court documents state.
Božović is one of those arrested and later indicted in the large international operation "General", aimed at dismantling organized crime groups involved in cocaine smuggling from South America to Europe and Australia.
This action was carried out on July 17, 2024.
That day, Vaso and Nikola Ulić, Vukan (Vinetu) Čoković Matić, Viktor Drešaj, Radomir Dobriša, Petar Miranović, Marinko Prelević and Veselin Paro Pavličić were deprived of their liberty.
Criminal charges were also filed against Radoje Zvicer, Dragan Pavličević, Vuk Vulević, Radul Božović, Ivan Delić and Leon Drešaj, who evaded arrest that day, as well as against the previously arrested Slobodan Kašćelan, Milo Božović, Damir Mandić, Vjekoslav Lambulić and Radovan Pantović.
In security circles, Operation "General" has been labeled as one of the most important blows to the mafia, given the names on the nineteen-member list of suspects for transnational cocaine smuggling.
The Montenegrin Special State Prosecutor's Office (SDT) and the Special Police Department (SPO) have been closely cooperating with the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (EUROPOL), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in this endeavor for months. ) and the Australian Federal Police (AFP).
According to the knowledge of Vijesta, it is the first time that the US DEA and FBI are directly participating in an investigation with the Special Police Department.
Vaso Ulić and Radoje Zvicer are cited as the leaders of a criminal organization accused of smuggling around 2,5 tons of cocaine, among whose members are prisoners with long prison terms, such as Damir Mandić, but also members of the notorious "Amerika" clan, active since the XNUMXs. ..
According to the prosecution's files, in early 2020, Vaso Ulić, Radoje Zvicer and other unidentified persons formed a criminal organization in the territories of Montenegro, Colombia, Ecuador, Australia and the Netherlands, the aim of which was to commit the criminal offenses of unauthorized production, possession and trafficking of narcotic drugs.
Judge: No evidence of origin
Explaining why she approved the temporary seizure of antiques from Mileta Božović, Judge Mugoša pointed out that the court started from the fact that a criminal and financial investigation was underway against the defendant, as well as the fact that he had duly signed a certificate on the temporarily seized items.
"And in no way did he indicate that these were not his objects and property, because he signed it without objections. In addition, according to the findings and opinion of the expert in the field of antiquities and ethnology Goran Bubanja, these are antiques with an estimated value of 280.490,00 euros, which indicates that these are extremely valuable antiques, whose value is clearly disproportionate to the lawful income of the defendant Mileta Božović, so when it is taken into account that the defendant has no evidence of the origin, method of acquisition or purchase of the antiques, in the opinion of the investigating judge, the totality of the aforementioned circumstances indicates the existence of a reasonable suspicion that the items in question were acquired through the criminal activities of the defendant Mileta Božović," Mugoša concludes.
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