Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and the Government of Serbia denied any connection with the group led by Milan Radoičić, who killed a Kosovo policeman in the early morning hours of September 24 in Banjska, northern Kosovo, and then barricaded themselves in the Banjska monastery. According to official data, three armed attackers were killed.
The Kosovo government claims that Radoicic's involvement clearly shows that the group had the support of Belgrade. Radoičić took responsibility and rejected claims that he had the support of the institutions of the Serbian state.
However, BIRN research based on an analysis of photos and videos of weapons released by the Kosovo police, as well as interviews with weapons experts, showed that some of the seized weapons used by Radoičić's group had passed through the Serbian state system at some point in the previous five years.
BIRN journalists were engaged in the analysis of weapons from which it was possible to read the markings, determining the place of manufacture or overhaul, as well as the type of weapon and the year of manufacture.
Among the confiscated weapons are 7,62x39mm caliber bullets for automatic rifles produced at the Belom factory in Užići - in 2022.
Mortar mines and M-80 soljes, which were confiscated by the Kosovo police, were overhauled in 2018 and 2021 at the Technical Overhaul Institute in Kragujevac, while the M93 automatic grenade launcher was at some point in the Technical Overhaul Institute in Čačak.
BIRN has also identified MRUD, anti-personnel mines with an explosive directed effect, which Serbia normally has in its military warehouses.
Experts interviewed by BIRN journalists claim that these weapons could have reached Banjska in several ways: either they were stolen from state warehouses, or they were sold to private arms dealers who then gave or sold them to Radoičić - or that someone from the head of state handed over his weapons.
The President of the Military Union, Novica Antić, believes that the weapons were most likely stolen from military stocks or sold to private arms dealers in Serbia who then resold them to Radoičić's group.
"I personally don't believe that the army gave those weapons directly to Radoičić's group, but that he got them in a roundabout way. So, either they were stolen or they got them through private arms dealers," Antic told BIRN.
He emphasizes that this does not exclude the possibility that some state officials are involved, but that Radoičić's group did not receive weapons from official "military units".
Military analyst Aleksandar Radić says that it is difficult to imagine that someone could get hold of such a quantity of heavy weapons without the cooperation of Serbian state officials.
"Serbia has strict control over exports and it is not realistic that private companies obtained end-user certificates for, say, some African countries, and then took guns from them to give them to Radoičić's group."
Responding to accusations that the armed group used weapons produced in Serbia, Defense Minister Miloš Vučević stated that this does not prove anything, stressing that the Kosovo police also use weapons produced in Serbia.
Until the publication of this text, the Ministry of Defense did not respond to BIRN's questions about the specific weapons analyzed by BIRN.
New bullets from the Serbian company Belom used in Banjska
Among the seized weapons is 7,62x39mm caliber ammunition, a common bullet for an assault rifle, and BIRN's analysis shows that it was produced in 2022 at the Belom factory in Užići.
The position of the marks on the bullets found in the north of Kosovo coincides with the position of the marks on the bullets of the same caliber whose photos were published on the official website of Beloma.
Belom is the newest factory in the system of dedicated industry of Serbia, formed in 2016. The ultimate owner of Beloma is the state giant Jugoimport SDPR. The ammunition found after the confrontation in Banjska was produced by machines purchased from the Belgian machine manufacturer NLC. BIRN wrote about this procurement, which, according to the KPMG auditor, was carried out to the detriment of Serbian taxpayers in the text Belgian-Serbian business: Overpaid ammunition machines and suspicions of fraud.
BIRN sent a request for information of public importance to the Ministry of Internal and Foreign Trade, asking for data on the export of ammunition 7,63 x39 mm produced by Belom in 2022, in order to determine the buyers who could possibly hand over that ammunition to Radoičić's group, however, they answered we did not receive until the publication of the text.
Armaments seized in Banjska overhauled in state institutes
60mm mortar mines for the M73 also found their place in the arsenal of the group under the control of Milan Radoičić. These mines are produced by the Serbian state factory Krušik from Valjevo, and those found in the north of Kosovo were subsequently overhauled in state institutes, BIRN analysis shows.
The mines in the photos published by the Kosovo police are marked "RZK 1801, R" - which means that they passed through the state Technical Repair Institute Kragujevac (RZK) in 2018.
BIRN sources point out that the Cyrillic script on them means that they were originally made for the Serbian army, but this does not exclude the possibility that they were sold to private arms dealers after overhaul.
Kosovo police also confiscated Zolje M-80 anti-tank rocket launchers. They are marked RZK 2101, 11R", which means that they were also overhauled in Kragujevac, but in 2021.
A Kosovo military expert, who spoke to BIRN on the condition of remaining anonymous, says that these Zoljes rarely appear on the black market, because the handling of these weapons is strictly controlled, which is also suggested by the way these weapons are packaged.
Military expert Aleksandar Radić says that the state of Serbia has a fairly good records system and that it can quickly trace what disappears from military supplies.
"Serbia is proud of that. Whenever, after a terrorist attack in Europe, it happens that weapons from Krusik, for example, were used, we very quickly determine where the weapons came from, whether they are in the records, etc.," explains Radić.
M93 automatic grenade launcher overhauled in Čačak
Among the confiscated arsenal, you can see the M93 automatic grenade launcher produced at the Zastava factory in Kragujevac. As stated on Zastava's website, the M93 is an infantry weapon intended for "destroying covered and uncovered live targets at distances of up to 1700 meters, as well as for destroying light armored combat vehicles at distances of up to 1000 meters."
On the spot, the Kosovo police found record number 59056, i.e. the packing list that should normally be inside the box with the weapon, which indicates that this weapon was being repaired at the Technical Overhaul Institute in Čačak. The document mentions the factory number 201, which matches the marking on the M93 grenade launcher in the photo released by the Pristina authorities.
The packing list contains the signatures of three persons whose names are clearly visible and legible, along with the alleged seal of the Military Technical Overhaul Institute from Čačak.
BIRN's source in the army claims that the document appears authentic, stating that he knows some of the people who signed the document.
Military analyst Aleksandar Radić says that the fact that the weapons and ammunition were in repair facilities means that they were probably not intended for further sale, especially since Serbia does not have surplus M93s.
"ABG [automatic grenade launchers] were never sold after overhaul, because we didn't have any in excess. And why would a new one go for repair?" he says, suggesting that it was most likely used by the Serbian army.
MRUD: Anti-personnel mines that Veljko Belivuk's clan also found
The Kosovo police also found a certain amount of anti-personnel mines of explosive directed effect, MRUD, which were produced in Yugoslavia.
According to the markings on the confiscated mines, it can be concluded that they were produced in 1984.
Some former Yugoslav republics, including Serbia, still possess this type of mines in their warehouses. These mines are not subject to the UN Mine Ban Convention, because they are not activated by the victim, but are activated by remote control.
The President of the Military Union, Novica Antić, says that Serbia has a certain number of these mines in military warehouses and overhaul institutes, but points out that they can also be found on the "black market" since the war in the 90s.
MRUD mines also found their way to "Janjičar", a criminal gang controlled by Veljko Belivuk, who is currently on trial for multiple brutal murders and drug trafficking.
According to reports from the trial of this group, the "Janjičari" fraudulently bought five MRUD mines from the Montenegrin Skaljar clan.
Kosovo Police Director Gazmend Hodža said on October 1 that Kosovo police officer Afrim Bunjaku died from injuries sustained by the activation of a remote-controlled anti-personnel mine. However, he did not specify whether it was MRUD.
The higher public prosecutor's office in Belgrade claims that the weapon that was used on September 24 in the attack on the Kosovo police in Banjska came from Tuzla.
This is denied by the officials of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Prime Minister of the Federation of BiH, Nermin Nikšić, said on October 5 that Serbia has been exposed to "great pressure and condemnations from democratic states" in recent days, but that for "the supply of weapons, the training of paramilitary formations and groups of Serbian citizens and local officials that caused an armed conflict in the north of Kosovo Serbia cannot claim responsibility from this side of the border".
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