The nation's State Particular Prosecutor's Workplace mentioned that officers of the Particular Police Division “arrested DD, a lawyer from Budva, on suspicion of getting dedicated the felony offense of forming a felony group and of a number of cash laundering accounts”.
Whereas the Prosecutor's Workplace kept away from offering additional particulars in regards to the case, Montenegrin media recognized the person as Dimitrije Dapčević who beforehand represented Radoje Zvicer, the fugitive chief of the Kavač clan, one of many two essential felony teams of Montenegro.
In line with sources cited by Vijesti from Podgorica, Dapčević not solely represented Zvicer in court docket, however was additionally his private good friend and allegedly additionally laundered his cash. The outlet additionally claimed that he was the authorized advisor to a number of different high figures within the Kavač clan.
The Prosecutor's Workplace confirmed the help of the European Union's regulation enforcement company, Europol, within the operation focusing on Dapčević. Vijesti mentioned Europol supplied Montenegrin authorities with compromising data obtained from the Sky ECC utility – an encrypted software program broadly utilized by felony networks till it was dismantled in March 2021.
Dapčević's consumer and good friend, Radoje Zvicer continues to evade authorities, his whereabouts are unknown since Serbia and Montenegro issued worldwide warrants in opposition to him in 2020.
The Kavač and Škaljari clans, initially from Kotor on Montenegro's picturesque Adriatic coast, share a turbulent historical past. Initially, they had been a part of the identical felony enterprise, smuggling medicine from South America to Europe. Nevertheless, an acid cocaine deal in Spain in 2014 shattered their alliance, resulting in a violent rift that solely intensified over time.
The ensuing battle break up the felony world in Serbia and Montenegro, resulting in a polarization the place different felony organizations, in addition to sure factions in regulation enforcement and politics, took sides.
This violent feud exacted a heavy toll, claiming the lives of dozens within the nations of the previous Yugoslavia and past. At its coronary heart is a battle for dominance over the routes used to smuggle cocaine from South America, responding to Europe's insatiable demand for narcotics, a commerce valued at billions of euros.
