The High Court Council in Podgorica confirmed three indictments of the Special State Prosecutor's Office, which were merged into one in mid-September, in order to reach a single decision on the roles of a criminal organization in the smuggling of cigarette cargo through the Port of Bar.
The Prosecutor's Office explains that this concerns the sale of cigarettes on the territory of Montenegro, which were previously transported and stored in the Free Customs Zone of the Port of Bar, and the quantity involved is no less than 151.128 packs of cigarettes that were not registered in the Register of Tobacco Product Brands, which records cigarettes that are in circulation on the domestic market, and thus, the failure to pay customs duties, excise duties and taxes caused damage to the budget of Montenegro in the millions.
The Special State Prosecutor's Office announced that the High Court confirmed the indictment against eight defendants - Aleksandar Mijajlović, Dejan Jokić, Zoran Žuti Đukanović, Golub Vojinović, Dragan Backović, Milenko Mićo Rabrenović, Radoje Rabrenović and Mirko Mijušković, due to the existence of reasonable suspicion that they committed the criminal offense of creating a criminal organization. In this indictment, the defendants Mijajlović, Đukanović, Rabrenović are also charged with the extended criminal offense of smuggling, and Jokić, Radoje Rabrenović and Mujušković with two extended criminal offenses of smuggling.
Vojinović is charged with three continued criminal offenses of smuggling and two criminal offenses of money laundering, and the accused Backović is charged with abuse of official position and two criminal offenses of money laundering.
"The subject of the indictment is that the accused AM, together with an unknown person, in the period from 2019 to 2021, in Montenegro, organized a criminal organization whose members included the other accused and other, currently unknown persons, with the aim of smuggling untaxed cigarettes from the free customs zone of the Port of Bar and their sale, concealment and distribution on the territory of Montenegro and other countries, for the purpose of acquiring illegal profit and power, as well as laundering the money thus acquired," the SDT statement reads.
By the decision of the High Court of September 19, the indictment of the SDT, which was filed against the accused Marinko Koprivica and Srđan Jokić, was merged into one case due to the existence of reasonable suspicion that they committed the criminal offenses of creating a criminal organization and the extended criminal offense of smuggling.
"The subject of the indictment is that the accused MK and SJ, during 2020 and 2021, became members of a criminal organization that was organized by the accused AM, together with an unknown person, in Montenegro in the period from 2019 to 2021, and whose members also became the accused: DJ, Z.Đ., GV, DB, MR, RR and MM, and other, currently unknown persons, with the aim of smuggling untaxed cigarettes from the free customs zone of the Port of Bar and their sale, concealment and distribution on the territory of Montenegro and other countries, for the purpose of acquiring illegal profit and power, but also laundering the money thus acquired," the SDT states.
The defendants Koprivica and Jokić are also charged with having, as members of a criminal organization, engaged in smuggling large quantities of cigarettes into the territory of Montenegro over a long period of time.
The same case also includes the indictment Kt-S number 113/25, which was filed by the Special State Prosecutor's Office against nine defendants - Vesko Petranović, Dejan Jokić, Dražen Vukadinović, Branko Ćelić, Davor Lukačević, Marko Đurišić, JM and RO, due to the existence of reasonable suspicion that they committed the criminal offense of creating a criminal organization, and the others, due to the existence of reasonable suspicion that they committed the criminal offense of creating a criminal organization.
The indictment includes DJ, DV2, DV, JM, B.Č., RO, DL and MK, and JM and RO are charged with the continued criminal offense of smuggling.
"The defendants are charged with having, between mid-2019 and the end of October 2020, become members of a criminal organization organized in Montenegro by the defendant VP, which continuously engaged in the sale, distribution and concealment of untaxed cigarettes purchased abroad," the SDT states.
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