Vujačić: It is true that my house was searched, I am not connected to criminal structures

Baranin Milan Vujačić reacted to the article "Police searched facilities used by 18 people: Rifles, pistols, ammunition and a vehicle seized" published on the "Vijesti" portal on March 30.

Vijesti publishes his reaction in full:

"The aforementioned text states my full name and surname and directly links me to organized crime groups in Montenegro, which is not true. Even in the subtitle of the aforementioned text, only I am highlighted as an 'operationally interesting person'. The text states gross untruths, my family, my personal and professional integrity are violated, and it remains unclear what the intention of the aforementioned text of the daily newspaper 'Vijesti', which is considered a serious media outlet, is to publish unverified and inaccurate information. My full name and surname are stated, along with three other people unknown to me, and the other 14 people are listed by initials.

There have never been any criminal proceedings against me, and therefore I have never been convicted. I am a family man and businessman who has been in private business for 25 years, and I regularly pay my taxes and all obligations to the state.

This text has damaged my business integrity, jeopardized my reputation among clients, and my family has endured stress because this is the first time in our lives that we find ourselves in such circumstances.

The need for this form of sensationalism remains unclear, when I could have been contacted for the purpose of objectively informing and providing accurate information. Isn't one of the basic journalistic postulates to hear the other side?

It is true that my house was searched, and the police acted correctly and professionally. I have valid firearms licenses for the weapons that were seized, and I have been a member of the hunting society JP 'Rumija' for the last 15 years.

"At the time the search was carried out, I was not in the house, but in Žabljak. When asked if we had weapons in the house, my wife showed me where they were kept under lock and key and voluntarily handed them over. If 'Vijesti' has some information about me that I don't know, it was really elementary correct for them to contact me before they caused me and my family harm by stating my full name and surname, and that I am a member of a criminal group," Vujačić wrote.