Knežević: The facts refute the indictment

Former police official Dejan Knežević announced today that a year and a half before he was arrested, the possibility was created to prosecute at least 11 people, but that this activity was stopped by the Special Police Department, without a reasonable and logical explanation.

He continued to present his defense before the special panel of Judge Simo Rašović at the Podgorica High Court, in the continuation of the trial against the group accused of creating a criminal organization and drug trafficking.

"A very important fact is that based on the application of secret surveillance measures and data from the Sky ECC platform, about a year and a half ago, that is, before my deprivation of liberty, a real and concrete possibility was created for the prosecution of at least 11 persons from Montenegro involved in drug smuggling in case Mtn. no. 83/19. These activities were previously coordinated by officers of the Department for Combating Drugs Biljana Knežević and Miloš Mrdak with Special Prosecutor Zoran Vučinić. Therefore, it was an operationally completed case with clear evidence and a ready basis for prosecution. However, by order of the Chief Special State Prosecutor, the case was assigned to the Special Police Department, after which its implementation was effectively stopped and postponed for a period of almost two years, without any reasonable and logical explanation," said the former Assistant Director of the Police Directorate.

He stated that such action is contrary to the basic principles of effective criminal prosecution, because cases of organized crime are handled urgently, precisely in order to prevent further criminal offenses and secure evidence.

"It is particularly indicative that the indictment against me was confirmed on 29 November 2024, while only ten days later, on 9 December 2024, the case 'Vessel mtn 83/19' was completed, in which several persons were prosecuted for cocaine smuggling on the ship 'Budva'. This course of events cannot be accidental, on the contrary. It clearly points to the logical conclusion that the completion of the case was deliberately waited until the indictment was confirmed, because any earlier completion would have unequivocally shown that the actions I took were legal, professional and aimed exclusively at detecting and suppressing international drug trafficking," said Knežević.

He pointed out that, therefore, the timely realization of that case would directly negate the factual allegations of the indictment and call into question the very merits of the indictment against him.

"For this very reason, the postponement of the implementation of the case and its activation immediately after the confirmation of the indictment is a circumstance that seriously questions the objectivity of the prosecution's actions. This has, to a significant extent, confirmed my suspicions that I presented before the court at the hearing on October 10, 2024. This fact directly supports my defense, because it confirms that my actions were not aimed at disclosing secret information, but rather the opposite. At the lawful and professional detection and prosecution of perpetrators of the most serious crimes," Knežević said in the courtroom.

Milović also collaborated professionally with others

The defendant said that the acting prosecutor Jovan Vukotić was well aware of the fact that Ljubo Milović, within the Department for Combating Drugs, had professionally collaborated with a large number of police officers, as well as having private contacts with certain colleagues.

"However, these circumstances were deliberately ignored in order to create the false impression that I was the only person who communicated with him or knew him, which simply does not correspond to the real state of affairs. The question arises whether the prosecutor, by including MTN 83/19 in the indictment before the implementation of the 'Vesel' case, where around 570 kilograms of cocaine were found on the ship 'Budva', consciously or unconsciously jeopardized the prosecution of 11 persons, bearing in mind that the information from the case is reported daily in the media, which increases the risk that the suspects will gain knowledge about the course of the investigation. Some persons avoided arrest during the implementation of police and prosecutorial activities, which indicates a compromise of the operational procedure."

He said that he was specifically pointing out to the trial panel an extremely important piece of evidence, which stems from communications and letters from the office of the liaison officer of the Federal Criminal Police (BKA) of the Federal Republic of Germany, Mr. Stephan Schweikert.

"Namely, it clearly follows from his official communication that in the case of the seizure of cocaine on the ship 'Budva' mtn 83/19, there was intensive, direct and high-quality cooperation between the German authorities and the Department for Combating Drugs of the Police Administration of Montenegro, including me personally as an officer who participated in that communication. It is particularly significant that it follows from his statement itself that, after the seizure of cocaine, colleagues are happy and congratulate us on the excellent cooperation, which represents a direct and unambiguous assessment of the success of joint work and professional conduct. Furthermore, the official letter from the liaison officer's office clearly states: 'I take this opportunity to thank you on behalf of the competent authorities of the Federal Republic of Germany, as well as on behalf of our office, for the excellent cooperation'. This formulation has exceptional evidentiary value, because it comes from an international police partner and represents an official assessment of my actions in this specific case," Knežević emphasized.

He said that this evidence directly undermines the construction of the indictment, because it shows that his actions were not unauthorized or illegal, but rather part of official international police cooperation that resulted in the seizure of a large quantity of narcotics and the arrest of the perpetrators.

The SDT has indicted former police officer Ljubo Milović, Mileta Ojdanić, Ivan Stamatović, Nebojša Bugarin, Petar Lazović, Marko Novaković, Milan Popović, Miloš Mišurović, Vladimir Bajčeta, Goran Stojanović, Dejan Knežević and Darko Knežević, Milo Božović, Radoje Zvicer and Božida Jabučanin, Aleksandar Keković, Dražen Milović, Filip Zindović, Ivan Nikolić, Tihomir Adžić, Ivan Mijatović and several unidentified persons. They are charged with creating a criminal organization, money laundering, unauthorized production, possession and distribution of narcotic drugs and illegal possession of weapons and explosives.