Part of the weapon found in the businessman's house Aca Đukanović belongs to his brother, while the ammunition and bulletproof vests were forgotten by members of the police and secret service who had been protecting the former prime minister and president for years Milo Đukanović, his lawyer announced last night Nikola Martinovic.
After several hours of questioning at the Basic State Prosecutor's Office in Nikšić, the prosecutor Vanja Sindjic ordered the detention of Aco Đukanović (60), suspected of illegal possession of weapons and explosives, for up to 72 hours.
The Nikšić State Prosecutor's Office announced that, after the hearing, the state prosecutor issued a detention order due to reasonable suspicion that Đukanović was illegally holding weapons and ammunition in his house in Nikšić.
One of his defense attorneys, attorney Martinović, said that the detention was ordered due to the risk of flight, and that he expects the prosecution, if it believes there are reasons for detention, to submit a proposal to the investigating judge without delay.
He stated that the defense waived its right to appeal the detention order in order to make the proceedings as efficient as possible.
According to unofficial information from "Vijesti", Đukanović has crossed the state border more than 20 times in the past six months, which is why it was allegedly assessed that there was a risk of flight.
He was arrested on the night between Friday and Saturday, after a search of a family home in the Nikšić neighborhood of Rastoci.
According to the defense attorney, the police deprived him of his liberty around two and a half hours after midnight.
Weapon with dedication
"To remove any dilemma - some old hunting rifles were found during the search. Some rifles were found with a dedication to his brother Milo Đukanović and it is definitely clear that these rifles have no connection to Aco Đukanović. A certain amount of weapons that belonged to his late father were also found, for which there is documentation. The police took all of these weapons. They will be the subject of an expert examination and I think there will be no dispute about that. Aco agrees to have them examined. DNA was taken. To our knowledge, the DNA will absolutely certainly show that Aco Đukanović has no connection to these rifles," said Martinović.
Regarding the ammunition found with Đukanović, Martinović said that it was most likely forgotten by officers from the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP) and the National Security Agency (ANB), who were guarding Milo Đukanović.
"A package of ammunition of various calibers was found. So, it is completely unsorted ammunition and it is probably a backlog from the Ministry of Interior of Montenegro and the National Security Agency, the former State Security, which provided security for a protected person in that area, the former Prime Minister and President of Montenegro - Milo Đukanović. So there is no need to make a fuss about this case," said Martinović.
He said the same about the bulletproof vests found in the house:
"Regarding the bulletproof vests, we also assume that these bulletproof vests were left by members of the Ministry of the Interior of Montenegro who were in that house for years, everyone in Nikšić knows that, and provided security for protected persons and all persons who stayed in that house, both in front and inside, that's one thing. So, the origin of these bulletproof vests is clear, and another thing - these bulletproof vests are completely unusable due to their age, as we have already established. Even I did not know that over time, bulletproof vests lose their effectiveness and after a certain period of time, regardless of whether they were used or not, they cannot be considered weapons or dangerous devices," he said.
Responding to a question from "Vijesti" about whether he believes the police and the ANB are negligent or forgetful and why they would leave so much ammunition in any house, any protected person, Martinović said:
"I don't know what 'so much' means to you, it's not my job to deal with what the ANB is doing or what the police are doing, it's my job to deal with it and to clearly show that Aco Đukanović has nothing to do with that ammunition and those pistols. When I say pistols, I also mean the hunting rifles that were found, because these are hunting rifles, they are not offensive weapons, there are no Kalashnikovs, they are simple, common, hunting weapons that anyone with a permit can acquire," he said.
The police took all those weapons. They will be the subject of an expert examination and I don't think there will be any dispute about that. Aco agrees to have it examined. DNA was taken. As far as we know, DNA will absolutely show that Aco Đukanović has nothing to do with those guns.
He pointed out that the weapon had a number and that it was not a counterfeit weapon.
"The weapons will be tampered with, and to my knowledge, each of those weapons has a permit. The police also confiscated some flare guns - these are guns used on vessels to fire flares and they cannot be considered weapons, so that will certainly be rejected."
Documents, rifles, pistols, ammunition and body armor
Yesterday morning, the Police Directorate confirmed the information from "Vijesti" about the businessman's arrest, officially announcing that their officers from the Crime Prevention Sector, with the support of the Special Police Unit and inspectors from the Regional Security Centers "Center" and "West", searched several of Đukanović's buildings and premises on February 27 and the night of February 28, based on orders obtained from the locally competent prosecutor's offices and courts in Podgorica and Nikšić.
"Vijesti" announced yesterday that, according to the newspaper's unofficial information, several expensive watches were listed and photographed during the search of Đukanović's apartment, and that the police also photographed certain documentation, arranged in several binders.
The police officially announced that certain documentation was seized, which the competent prosecutor's office was notified of, "and a case will be opened regarding the above for the purpose of further proceedings."
"Due to the protection of the interests of police officers, at this time we are unable to provide more information about the activities carried out in the territory of Podgorica," the Police Department said.
They explained that during the activities undertaken in the territory of Nikšić, during a search of a family house in the town of Rastoci, they found a large quantity of firearms and ammunition:
"Hunting carbine brand 'Mauser' with optical sight, in illegal possession. Rifle brand 'Brno' with optical sight brand 'Busnell', in illegal possession. Shotgun rifle of unknown brand, in illegal possession. Pistol of unknown brand, in illegal possession. Hunting carbine brand 'M-48', in illegal possession. Pistol brand 'CZ 99 PARA' with a frame containing five rounds of ammunition and a firearms license in the name of a deceased family member. Over 400 rounds of ammunition of different brands and calibers. Three empty frames. Five protective ballistic body armor. Binoculars brand 'Zeiss'," the UP said.
They stated that in this and all previous cases, they are taking measures and actions within their jurisdiction in an indiscriminate, professional and lawful manner:
"They continue the uncompromising fight against crime, with the aim of raising the level of security and citizens' trust in the work of institutions and establishing the rule of law and legal security."
DON'T MISS IT
With chants, he was taken to the "marica"
Djukanovic was brought to the Nikšić ODT building yesterday around 2:30 p.m., 12 hours after he was arrested and taken to the Nikšić police concrete mixer.
An hour later, his legal team - sister Ana Đukanović, Neda Ivović and Nikola Martinović - entered the prosecutor's office building. Neda Ivović was previously the president of the board of Prva Banka. Aco Đukanović is the largest shareholder of Prva Banka (around 41,5 percent). The bank has been in the public eye for years due to state aid in 2008, subsequent doubts about the way the money was returned, as well as supervisory measures and business indicators in recent years.
Around 7:30 p.m., police officers took Đukanović out of the prosecutor's office building and into a police "marca".
Several dozen gathered members of the Đukanović family and their friends chanted: "Aco, Aco" as the police escorted him.
One of the girls kicked the "marica" after Đukanović was placed in the vehicle.
The brother of the former multiple prime minister and president of the state moved to Luxembourg, then to Italy, shortly after the 2020 elections, in which the DPS lost its three-decade rule.
According to "Vijesti", he arrived in Montenegro a few days ago.
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