Serbia To Push Montenegro On Organised Crime
Eurasia Review
“The time has come for Serbia to cut its own connections with organised crime,”
Slobodan Homen, State Secretary in Serbia’s Ministry of Justice, says Montenegro’s new government must demonstrate its readiness to continue the fight against organized crime.
“The new government will have a serious task, to demonstrate its willingness to be one of key factors in the fight against organized crime in the region,” Homen said.
The new government in Podgorica is headed by Igor Luksic, previously the country’s Finance Minister.
Belgrade has in the past accused outgoing prime minister, Milo Djukanovic, of hiding people on Serbian wanted lists. In a gesture signaling the two countries’ commitment to busting organised crime networks, the two justice ministers signed an extradition agreement on October 29.
A series of arrests followed. Serbia has since taken into custody 12 men charged by Montenegro with war crimes and Montenegro has detained six organised crime suspects wanted by Serbia.
Dusan Janjic, head of the Belgrade-based Forum for Ethnic Relations, said Djukanovic’s withdrawal from politics in Montenegro would shift the focus on organised crime from Montenegro to the Serbia’s backyard.
“The time has come for Serbia to cut its own connections with organised crime,” he said.
By Bojana Barlovac
About the author:
Balkan Insight
The Balkan Insight (fornerkt the Balkin Investigative Reporting Network, BIRN) is a close group of editors and trainers that enables journalists in the region to produce in-depth analytical and investigative journalism on complex political, economic and social themes. BIRN emerged from the Balkan programme of the Institute for War & Peace Reporting, IWPR, in 2005. The original IWPR Balkans team was mandated to localise that programme and make it sustainable, in light of changing realities in the region and the maturity of the IWPR intervention. Since then, its work in publishing, media training and public debate activities has become synonymous with quality, reliability and impartiality. A fully-independent and local network, it is now developing as an efficient and self-sustainable regional institution to enhance the capacity for journalism that pushes for public debate on European-oriented political and economic reform.
source: Eurasia Review
'Macedonian heroin ring' prompts Austria arrests
Nearly 100 people have been arrested in Austria and Macedonia on suspicion of being part of a Macedonian-led heroin trafficking ring.
The ring, dubbed the "Frankfurt Mafia" because of its German connections, allegedly smuggled drugs into Austria and Germany via various channels.
Austrian police said they had arrested 69 people in the capital, Vienna.
Earlier, police in Macedonia reported 29 arrests in connection with the same ring.
Six of those detained in Macedonia are said to be organisers of the ring.
Several of the detainees owned apartments in Vienna and Frankfurt that were allegedly used for distribution of drugs to lower-level dealers.
Homes and restaurants owned by group members were searched and a large amount of money and drugs was found, Macedonian police said.
EU governments agreed earlier this year to step up action against the trafficking of heroin and cocaine into Europe, saying the illegal trade brought in "colossal" profits for criminals.
Heroin largely enters the EU through its eastern borders and Macedonian and other Balkan states have long been favoured routes for traffickers.
According to the latest EU data available, eight tonnes of heroin was seized in the EU and Norway in 2008.
Heroin and related drugs were present in the majority of drug-induced deaths reported in the EU this year, the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction reports.
source: BBC.co.uk
“The time has come for Serbia to cut its own connections with organised crime,”
Slobodan Homen, State Secretary in Serbia’s Ministry of Justice, says Montenegro’s new government must demonstrate its readiness to continue the fight against organized crime.
“The new government will have a serious task, to demonstrate its willingness to be one of key factors in the fight against organized crime in the region,” Homen said.
The new government in Podgorica is headed by Igor Luksic, previously the country’s Finance Minister.
Belgrade has in the past accused outgoing prime minister, Milo Djukanovic, of hiding people on Serbian wanted lists. In a gesture signaling the two countries’ commitment to busting organised crime networks, the two justice ministers signed an extradition agreement on October 29.
A series of arrests followed. Serbia has since taken into custody 12 men charged by Montenegro with war crimes and Montenegro has detained six organised crime suspects wanted by Serbia.
Dusan Janjic, head of the Belgrade-based Forum for Ethnic Relations, said Djukanovic’s withdrawal from politics in Montenegro would shift the focus on organised crime from Montenegro to the Serbia’s backyard.
“The time has come for Serbia to cut its own connections with organised crime,” he said.
By Bojana Barlovac
About the author:
Balkan Insight
The Balkan Insight (fornerkt the Balkin Investigative Reporting Network, BIRN) is a close group of editors and trainers that enables journalists in the region to produce in-depth analytical and investigative journalism on complex political, economic and social themes. BIRN emerged from the Balkan programme of the Institute for War & Peace Reporting, IWPR, in 2005. The original IWPR Balkans team was mandated to localise that programme and make it sustainable, in light of changing realities in the region and the maturity of the IWPR intervention. Since then, its work in publishing, media training and public debate activities has become synonymous with quality, reliability and impartiality. A fully-independent and local network, it is now developing as an efficient and self-sustainable regional institution to enhance the capacity for journalism that pushes for public debate on European-oriented political and economic reform.
source: Eurasia Review
'Macedonian heroin ring' prompts Austria arrests
Nearly 100 people have been arrested in Austria and Macedonia on suspicion of being part of a Macedonian-led heroin trafficking ring.
The ring, dubbed the "Frankfurt Mafia" because of its German connections, allegedly smuggled drugs into Austria and Germany via various channels.
Austrian police said they had arrested 69 people in the capital, Vienna.
Earlier, police in Macedonia reported 29 arrests in connection with the same ring.
Six of those detained in Macedonia are said to be organisers of the ring.
Several of the detainees owned apartments in Vienna and Frankfurt that were allegedly used for distribution of drugs to lower-level dealers.
Homes and restaurants owned by group members were searched and a large amount of money and drugs was found, Macedonian police said.
EU governments agreed earlier this year to step up action against the trafficking of heroin and cocaine into Europe, saying the illegal trade brought in "colossal" profits for criminals.
Heroin largely enters the EU through its eastern borders and Macedonian and other Balkan states have long been favoured routes for traffickers.
According to the latest EU data available, eight tonnes of heroin was seized in the EU and Norway in 2008.
Heroin and related drugs were present in the majority of drug-induced deaths reported in the EU this year, the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction reports.
source: BBC.co.uk
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