At today's hearing in the "Tunel" case, Judge Borko Lončar repeated the order for a construction expert report, which was also ordered in the investigation, but was not obtained, to determine how the tunnel under the High Court was dug, how it was dug, and whether the amount of excavated earth and material could fit inside.
He also issued a decision today to obtain from the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP) the minutes of the Diversion Protection Group, which used technical means to inspect the tunnel, which is an integral part of the on-site investigation report, but is not included in the case files.
The court today also accepted the defense's proposal to obtain information from the Kotor MUP regional unit, at whose request and when the ID card in the name of Andrijana Marić was issued, in the continuation of the evidentiary procedure, and whether it is the original document that was issued.
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 was broken into on September 8, 2023, and the thieves stole material evidence stored in that room until September 11, according to an investigation by the Podgorica prosecutor's office and police. 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.
The proposal of the defense attorney of the defendant Vladimir Erić, Stefan Jovanović, to supplement the evidentiary procedure with a certificate from the regional administration of the Serbian Ministry of the Interior in Šabac, Loznica police station, dated September 20, 2024, which certificate was submitted to the court during the indictment review phase, was also accepted.
Lončar, ex officio, issued a decision to supplement the evidentiary procedure by obtaining a certificate from border crossings in the name of the defendant Erić, for the period from August 5, 2023 onwards, especially the part relating to exits from Montenegro.
Previously, in order to verify Erić's defense, the court issued a decision to obtain information from the Loznica Police Department as to whether the defendant Veljko Marković's driver's license had been revoked and on what grounds.
The defendants said they did not recognize anyone from the recordings.
At today's hearing in the "Tunnel" case, extensive video and photo material was shown, allegedly showing the people who dug the tunnel to the High Court depot, and all the defendants except Vladimir Erić said they did not recognize the people in the video.
The hearing featured photo documentation submitted by the Basic State Prosecutor's Office, showing the van used to rob the depot, the apartments where the defendants allegedly resided, evidence from the scene, and the robbed depot...
A video clip of several men walking down the street was also shown, and the defendants said they did not recognize anyone in the video.
In addition to that footage, more video material from September 11, 2023 was shown, and the accused Erić said that the person in the red shorts in one of the footage resembled Milan Marković. In the next, enlarged footage, Erić said that it was clearly Marković, and that the younger person was not Veljko Marković.
Lawyer Danilo Mićović said that the footage in question was from surveillance cameras recorded by a phone, that their authenticity cannot be determined, and that they are legally invalid evidence.
He pointed out that it was pointless to discuss these recordings, because none of the defendants could define who was in the recordings.
Prosecutor Marko Mugoša opposed the proposal to exclude these recordings as evidence because they are legally invalid, as they are authentic recordings that can constitute evidence.
The defendants' defense lawyers agreed that these recordings cannot be legally valid evidence because the footage shown shows that the surveillance camera footage was recorded by a phone.
A recording from the Šćepan Polje border crossing was also played, showing Erić's Peugeot car with Loznica license plates, and Erić confirmed that he was the driver and that it was his car.
Expert: Mirotic's DNA found
Today's hearing was attended by forensic expert Jelena Jovanović, who said that the DNA found on the plug of the air mattress was biological material belonging to the defendant Predrag Mirotic.
Mirotic asked the expert when they received the item for expert examination, to which she replied on September 25, 2023.
Mirotic asked why the material was then expertly examined in December of that year, to which Jovanovic replied that the reason was the large volume of work, and that "The Tunnel" was her largest case to date.
Mirotic objected to the LMX software used at the Danilovgrad Forensic Center for DNA analysis, saying that the software is free, outdated, and makes mistakes.
"I'm saying this because IT is my profession, this is about making a mistake that could cost me and my family," said Mirotic.
Jovanović said that she was not aware that the software made errors.
Bonus video:
