Members of organized crime groups (OCG) from prison are planning serious crimes, recruiting other prisoners and trying to influence the system through corruption, the National Security Agency (ANB) claims, stating that they register such activities with the Administration for the Execution of Criminal Sanctions (UIKS).
From the ANB, headed by Ivica Janović, warn that prisons are increasingly being used as an operational base for coordinating and arranging criminal activities, but also as a space for recruiting prisoners who, for various reasons, are susceptible to the influence of criminal structures.
They explain that they continuously inform the Special State Prosecutor's Office and the Police Directorate about the information they obtain.
"We emphasize that the National Security Agency (Agency) continuously monitors all aspects of the activities of organized criminal groups (OCG). Bearing in mind that the Administration for the Execution of Criminal Sanctions (UIKS) houses a significant number of OKG members, monitoring security-related developments in this institution is an important aspect of the Agency's work. The Agency, in cooperation with other state bodies and institutions, actively conducts investigations into developments in UIKS and informs the competent authorities (UP, SDT) of security-related findings," the ANB emphasized.
They responded to "Vijesti" that, according to their operational data, members of organized crime groups who are in UIKS from prison are planning to commit serious crimes, but are also actively working to expand their criminal network, recruiting other prisoners.
"These are individuals who, for various reasons, are susceptible to influence, while OKG is trying to achieve its goals by undertaking corrupt actions," the ANB specified.
As an example of previously registered abuses, the Agency cites the events at the Special Psychiatric Hospital in Dobrota, where, as they claim, serious security breaches were recorded.
"The ANB has previously registered abuses related to the stay of prisoners at the Special Psychiatric Hospital in Dobrota, where there were cases of prisoners leaving the hospital premises, or that there were unauthorized entries into these premises," they emphasized.
They add that these are not the only abuses that the ANB has knowledge of, stating that certain individuals were allowed to postpone their prison sentences based on false or incomplete medical reports.
"The agency had information about certain abuses when it came to postponing prison sentences, through the issuance of medical findings and reports that did not fully reflect the actual health condition," they stated.
Janović's office also pointed to what they assessed as the quality of cooperation between the security service and the UIKS management.
"We emphasize that the Agency is achieving quality cooperation with the management of UIKS, which is investing significant efforts to provide adequate control in the prison system, ensure compliance with the law, and prevent and eliminate corruption and other abuses," they concluded.
Problems last for years
The National Security Agency's warnings that prisons are being used as an operational base for organized crime come in an environment in which UIKS has been burdened with serious security incidents and systemic weaknesses for years.
The most drastic example is the murder of a scalar. Dalibor Đurić, who was liquidated on September 22, 2016, who was killed by a sniper shot while in the compound of the Spuzg prison.
This crime, committed "from the outside", showed that even the most heavily guarded parts of the prison system are not immune to the activities of organized criminal groups.
Numerous serious incidents were recorded in the prison premises themselves, further confirming claims that conflicts between criminal clans continue behind bars. High-ranking member of the Kavač clan Igor Božović was doused with hot oil at UIKS, while the skaljarac Ranko Radulović stabbed while in remand prison.
At one time, detained members of the Kavač clan threatened to burn down the Remand Prison in 2021.
The ANB's claims are given special weight by the fact that in several criminal cases and indictments, especially after the breaking of communications via the Sky app, allegations have been registered that serious crimes are being agreed upon and planned simultaneously inside and outside prison, such as the planning of the murder of the now deceased leader of the Skalja clan. Jovan Vukotić while he was in custody.
The Union of Prison Officers has recently warned about the problems behind the walls of the prison, warning in September last year that "the state or someone individually is consciously working on the total collapse of the security situation in UIKS". "It is known that the current structure of convicted persons, and especially detained persons awaiting verdicts, is one of the most risky since the very creation of the prison system in Montenegro. Through carelessness and conscious devastation of the working conditions of employees, then of security conditions and the gradual creation of an environment where, according to the announcement of the President of the Supreme Court, a constellation of world-renowned criminals will reside or be convicted, so that they can enjoy themselves as Escobar enjoyed his private prison. We wonder if this is the goal of our constant humiliation and devaluation of our profession", they said at the time in a statement signed by the President of the Union Milan Ilbašić.
UIKS management, on the other hand, often emphasized that they were doing everything they could to keep the prison safe.
Amnesty is being used to instrumentalize prisoners
The ANB also registered that the talk of a possible amnesty was being used as a mechanism for the political instrumentalization of prisoners, which is why they allegedly received promises from various political actors in that context.
"When it comes to the possible political instrumentalization of criminal structures, for years ANB data has indicated that convicts held in UIKS expect that a legal act on amnesty will be adopted in the Parliament of Montenegro, and that, in this regard, through lawyers, they allegedly received promises from various political actors. Despite their expectations, there was no amnesty for the most serious crimes," the secret service replied to "Vijesti".
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