At today's hearing at the Podgorica Basic Court, the defendants in the "Tunel" case were heard.
The defendants denied their guilt, one of them, Katarina Baćović, defended herself by remaining silent, and the main trial was postponed to May 19th and 20th.
In question is the case of digging a tunnel from a private apartment to the depot of the High Court in Podgorica in 2023.
The depot of the High Court in Podgorica was broken into on September 8, 2023, and the thieves stole material evidence stored in that room until September 11, it was established by the investigation of the Podgorica prosecutor's office and the police. The investigators discovered that the underground tunnel, through which the thieves entered the court depot, had been dug since the end of July.
The Basic State Prosecutor's Office in Podgorica filed an indictment against the defendants Veljko M. Marković from Loznica, Milan T. Marković from Loznica, Dejan D. Jovanović from Belgrade, Vladimir M. Erić from Loznica, Predrag M. Mirotić from Zeta, Katarina D. Baćović from Podgorica , Nikola D. Milačić from Podgorica and Marijan P. Vuljaj, living in Tuzi.
They are charged with the criminal offense of criminal association in conjunction with the criminal offense of aggravated theft in co-perpetration, the defendant KB with the criminal offense of criminal association in conjunction with the criminal offenses of aggravated theft in co-perpetration and forgery of a document, and the defendant MV with the criminal offense of assisting the perpetrator after the criminal offense has been committed.
Vladimir Erić did not admit to the crime he is accused of.
"I crossed the border crossings with my ID card both when entering and leaving Montenegro, and on August 5th I set off for Montenegro to the seaside with my friend Veljko Marković. He lost his driver's license because he was driving under the influence of alcohol and asked me to drive him. On August 10th we were in Šćepan Polje, we arrived in Podgorica early in the morning, then went to Budva to waste some time and returned to Podgotica and parked at 'Delta', we didn't know that nothing was open on Sundays. We ate there and I had to return to Loznica, I crossed the border around three. I left my colleague in Foča, and around 6 pm on August 21th I was home. On August 13st I went to Sweden to work in a car service and then my sister sent me a link to the article Vijesti, when I saw that former Minister of the Interior Filip Adžić was showing my picture. At that moment I didn't have the money to buy a ticket to go back right away, but on the XNUMXth I I bought a ticket in October because I didn't have money before," he said.
He said that he knew Milan Marković as Veljko's uncle.
"Veljko and I have been friends for 23 years. I don't know if Milan Marković was in Montenegro that weekend when I came. We went to Budva through Sozina because it was a better route and it seemed closer to us. I don't know Predrag Mirotić, Dejan Jovanović, Katarina Baćović, Nikola Milačić or Marijan Vuljaj, and I saw them for the first time in the courtroom. All of what I'm saying can be verified by looking at my phone, because it remembers every location, I still use the same phone today. I am ready to hand over the phone to the court if an expert examination of the phone is ordered, and I gave the code to the prosecutor. I would just like this to end as soon as possible," Erić testified.
The accused Predrag Mirotić said that he does not admit to the criminal offense he is charged with in the indictment.
"Nor am I a member of any criminal organization as depicted in the film," he said at today's hearing. "I have been caused serious damage and stress, as well as my family. We bear the damage for those who really did this. I do not know any of the defendants except Nikola Milačić because we married two sisters. I saw Katarina Baćović for the first time today. I have a registered business in London and I maintain some platforms, more precisely the administration system. I have been convicted before, I was released from detention in October 2021 or 2022. It lasted three years and four months," said Mirotic.
Katarina Baćović said that she does not admit to the crime and that she does not want to present her defense today.
"I have already told the prosecutor everything and I will defend myself by remaining silent," said Baćović.
Judge Borko Lončar read Baćović's defense that she presented to the prosecutor.
"Nikola Milačić contacted me via Instagram. I thought he was asking to see me because of my common-law husband Toni Đokaj, who had been arrested shortly before... Nikola told me it was urgent...", Baćović said.
When they met, she told the prosecutor, he offered her a job.
"I told him that I was in a bad financial situation, that I needed to get my children ready for school in September... He offered me to set up a company and lease space on Njegoševa Street for an expensive wedding dress salon. But to disguise myself for the meeting with the owner of that space on Njegoševa Street, for my safety. I bought a 120-euro wig, put on a fake tan and went for professional makeup," is part of Katarina Baćović's testimony read today by Judge Lončar.
She accepted the job, she stated, claiming she did not know the ultimate goal.
She later learned from the media, she claims, that a tunnel had been dug from that area to the depot at the Higher Court in Podgorica.
"What kind of person would I be if I participated in the robbery of the courthouse where my mother works," she said.
Nikola Milačić said that he did not participate in the acts for which the prosecution charges him, and that he does not know the defendants except Predrag Mirotić and Katarina Baćović.
Milačić said that he could not remember exactly when he met Baćović and said that he never offered her any job.
"I know nothing about opening a salon selling wedding dresses. I have never done that, nor did I have any plans to. I have never slept over at Katarina Baćović's place, and I know that she lived in Mali Brdo during that period," Milačić testified.
He said that he knew nothing about renting an apartment and basement in Podgorica, and that he did not give any money or a phone number to Baćović. "I know nothing about the ID card related to Katarina Baćović."
"I corresponded with Baćović on Instagram, but I can't remember if I asked to meet urgently on 12.06.2023. I can't remember what exact vehicle I had in the period from July to August 2023. because I import cars. My Instagram profile is still active and I haven't deleted it. I never drove with Baćović through the city. It's possible that I saw Katarina Baćović in the period July - August 2023. but I don't want to answer why because of family circumstances."
After Judge Lončar read him Baćović's statement, which was completely different from what he had said, Milačić said he had nothing to say except that he had not participated in anything he was accused of.
Marijan Vuljaj said that he did not know any of the accused, except for Baćović.
"I was in a relationship with Katarina and that's when I got caught up in that train," Vuljaj said.
"She called me one night and asked if we could rent an apartment. We moved to the City Quarter. Suddenly, we saw on Vijesti that she was wanted, and that's where I learned about the events. She told me everything and I advised her to turn herself in. They arrested us on Saturday, I don't know about the tunnel, the theft, or these items," Vuljaj said.
Bonus video:
