Bozur
Amicus
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Post by Bozur on Feb 19, 2010 14:14:18 GMT -5
"Šarić gang made EUR 1bn annually"
15 February 2010 | 11:20 | Source: B92 BELGRADE -- Darko Šarić's crime group was making at least one billion euros a year, Ministry of Justice State Secretary Slobodan Homen says.
Šarić, a Montenegrin who was given Serbian passport in 2005, is currently at large, while his gang is suspected of last year organizing the smuggling of over two tons of cocaine from South America to Europe.
Homen said that they laundered the drug money in sport clubs and privatizations, to then legalize it through investments.
He also noted that while Šarić's group started operating some ten years ago, they moved to Serbia in 2005.
Homen, who took part in B92 TV's Impression of the Week talk show last night, addressed the issue of whether some of Šarić's illegal wealth went to the country's political parties.
"If I were Šarić, and if I had that kind of money, I would finance all political parties, both in government and opposition, because that's the only reliable protection."
When host Olja Bećković noted that "perhaps that's precisely what he did," Homen said:
"Obviously, that chain broke someplace when this government decided to go for a showdown with him. It's hard to say whether someone financed – history will show."
Interpol's Serbia office chief Miloš Oparica was a guest on the same program and said that Serbian police focused on Šarić when they learned in 2000 that he was suspected of money laundering in a foreign country.
Oparica said that the gang was active abroad, and started buying real estate in Montenegro and Serbia in 2005. He also stated that he believes that Šarić was tipped off about an imminent arrest operation, and thus managed to escape.
According to Oparica, Šarić is now hiding in a location "that someone told him would be safe".
Special Organized Crime Prosecutor Miljko Radisavljević said that a decision would be made this week on forfeiture of the Šarić property gained through illegal activities. www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2010&mm=02&dd=15&nav_id=65208
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Bozur
Amicus
Posts: 5,515
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Post by Bozur on Feb 19, 2010 14:15:36 GMT -5
Đukanović on crime case: We don't take orders
17 February 2010 | 11:23 | Source: B92, Beta, Tanjug PODGORICA -- Montenegro wants cooperation in fighting against organized crime, but it does not take orders from other countries, says its PM Milo Đukanović.
Commenting on the case of Darko Šarić, wanted on an Interpol arrest warrant, Đukanović stated that Podgorica was ready to cooperate with all countries in combating organized crime but that it, as he put it, “did not take orders from other addresses“.
At the same time, Serbian Special Prosecutor for Organized Crime Miljko Radisavljević stated that it is possible that Šarić, who is wanted on drug trafficking charges, is located precisely in Montenegro, and that "Slovakia is investigating how the suspect obtained its citizenship".
During the several days of a tug of war between Serbia and Montenegro, when it was heard that legal and police procedures represented an obstacle in cooperation between Belgrade and Podgorica on the Šarić case, it appears that his associates, who were each released from custody in Montenegro after being arrested, have benefited the most.
After this, the Montenegrin PM repeated that his country "was not treated as a partner in the fight against organized crime".
Đukanović addressed reporters in Podgorica on Tuesday after a meeting with Belgian PM Yves Leterme, to assured them there was readiness to fight crime.
“Everybody must understand that Montenegro is an independent country, that it does not take orders from other addresses, that everybody who sees us as an equal partner can count on full partner commitment. If someone thinks that Montenegro can still be denounced at the international addresses, like it had been done ahead of the referendum on independence, then they are wrong,“ Đukanović said.
Meanwhile, leaders of the Montenegrin opposition are accusing Đukanović of sending soothing messages to Šarić in his media appearances, and that he was “vitally interested in keeping Šarić and his helpers at large because of fear of their possible testimonies before the court.“
In the meantime, the Slovak Interior Ministry is also dealing with Darko Šarić, investigating how a man wanted by Interpol managed to receive its citizenship. Slovakia has announced that they were working closely with Serbian police on this case.
Šarić is a Montenegrin native, who holds Serbian passport, issued to him in 2005. His gang is suspected of attempting to smuggle more than two tons of cocaine from South America to Europe. www.b92.net/eng/news/region-article.php?yyyy=2010&mm=02&dd=17&nav_id=65250
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Bozur
Amicus
Posts: 5,515
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Post by Bozur on Feb 19, 2010 14:16:55 GMT -5
"Sending evidence to Montenegro jeopardizes investigation" 11 February 2010 | 10:03 | Source: Tanjug
BELGRADE -- Serbia's special prosecutor says sending the Šarić case evidence to Montenegro at this stage could seriously jeopardize the investigation in Serbia.
Miljko Radisavljević pointed out that the Montenegrin State Prosecution's demand to turn over the evidence against Goran Soković and Dejan Šekularac – thought to be involved in Šarić's attempt to smuggle over two tons of cocaine from South America – was not denied, but that it was postponed in order not to hinder the Serbian investigation.
Montenegrin police arrested Soković and Šekularac, both Montenegrins, on a warrant issued by the Belgrade Interpol office. They were released from prison just after midnight on Wednesday.
The two were released after the Montenegrin state prosecution assessed on Tuesday that there were no grounds for starting criminal proceedings against them in Montenegro, because Serbia had failed to deliver the evidence.
Radisavljević said that the Serbian prosecution is currently conducting a “pre-criminal investigation and that delivering the evidence at this stage could completely jeopardize our future work.”
He noted that the Serbian investigation, which was first started against three suspects, is currently being conducted against a total of 24 people.
“This means that the number of persons, criminal offenses and activities being investigated is constantly rising, and is not yet final,” he said.
The special prosecutor announced that the investigation in Serbia was ongoing, and that a decision on "how to act further” would be made after its conclusion. www.b92.net/eng/news/crimes-article.php?yyyy=2010&mm=02&dd=11&nav_id=65126
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Bozur
Amicus
Posts: 5,515
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Post by Bozur on Feb 19, 2010 14:43:02 GMT -5
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Post by whateva on Feb 20, 2010 17:04:53 GMT -5
"reports about my death have been greatly exaggerated" only comes to mind while reading this article.
Biggest Mexican and Colombian cartels made about 1 Billion for the entire time they existed, how is someone going to believe that Montenegrin mafia makes that much in 1 year?
I know that they want to get attention to this problem and I believe they succeeded because many people will be looking to join this guy believing that kind of money is being made.
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Post by Emperor AAdmin on Feb 20, 2010 23:33:50 GMT -5
One billion is NOT equal to one trillion. (meaning the amount is not that high for this 'industry') Drug Cartels Make $64 Billion a Year from U.S., Mexican Says
MEXICO CITY – Drug cartels currently take in $64.34 billion from their sales to users in the United States, Mexico’s public safety secretary said.
Genaro Garcia Luna cited the figure during a speech Wednesday at the international forum organized in the northern border metropolis of Ciudad Juarez by the OCDA, a federation of center-right parties in the Americas.
The drugs that the – mainly Mexican – cartels smuggle into the United States include marijuana, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines and Ecstasy.
Mexico produces substantial amounts of marijuana and crystal meth and smaller quantities of heroin. South America is the source of the cocaine that Mexican gangs smuggle into the United States.
Garcia Luna said that organized criminal groups – in particular, the cartels – are a risk for public and national security in the hemisphere.
He said that according to figures compiled by international entities, the production of cocaine in Colombia, Peru and Bolivia has remained stable over the past nine years at an average of about 900 tons annually.
He said that in 2007 the wholesale price of cocaine went from $2,198 per kilogram in Colombia to $12,500 when it arrived in Mexico, and from there rose to $97,400 per kilo in the United States and $101,490 in Europe.
Garcia Luna acknowledged that Mexico now has a domestic drug problem and that Mexicans spend an average of $431 million per year on illegal drugs.
The secretary said that the criminal organizations are taking advantage of the phenomenon of globalization to expand their activities through the opening up of the financial markets and technological development.
He also emphasized that organized crime is participating not only in the shipment of drugs but also in trafficking in weapons and migrants, smuggling other items, money laundering, vehicle theft, kidnappings-for-ransom and extortion. EFE www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=342471&CategoryId=14091
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