Šarić's ties to Albanian crime boss explored

Belgrade daily Danas writes that Darko Saric's gang in Serbia has ties with the crime group of Antun Stanaj. Stanaj is an ethnic Albanian with Montenegrin citizenship. Saric's ties to Albanian crime boss explored Stanaj was arrested in 2007 a police operation codenamed Memphis, and convicted as the leader and chief financer of an international group that dealt with cigarette smuggling, Danas confirmed with sources close to Serbian police (MUP). That part of the clan subsequently taken over by Saric, usually referred to as the "Montenegrin tycoon lobby", then took part in numerous privatizations in Serbia. Usually through a middle-man, either a company or person, they were buying companies that made large profits, making it harder for the institutions to follow where all the money was going. The daily also states that there are rumors that some former and current Vojvodina senior officials were involved in the crime group, as well as a bank with headquarters in the province. More than EUR 1bn of drug and cigarette money was laundered in these deals, the newspaper writes. The most suitable companies for the jobs of Stanaj’s group, which Saric apparently took over, were those dealing with primary agriculture and auto-transport, which also served to "ship the merchandise". Many of the companies that were used were located close to the administrative boundary with Kosovo, where the main smuggling channels are, or in Vojvodina, because of the large financial potential for putting the money into other businesses, and for easier access to the European Union’s market, the daily adds. Saric is currently at large, wanted in Serbia in connection to the cocaine smuggling case, when his gang last year tried to traffic over two tons of cocaine from South America to Europe.

Šarić's ties to Albanian crime boss explored

Stanaj was arrested in 2007 a police operation codenamed Memphis, and convicted as the leader and chief financer of an international group that dealt with cigarette smuggling, Danas confirmed with sources close to Serbian police (MUP).

That part of the clan subsequently taken over by Šarić, usually referred to as the "Montenegrin tycoon lobby", then took part in numerous privatizations in Serbia.

Usually through a middle-man, either a company or person, they were buying companies that made large profits, making it harder for the institutions to follow where all the money was going.

The daily also states that there are rumors that some former and current Vojvodina senior officials were involved in the crime group, as well as a bank with headquarters in the province.

More than EUR 1bn of drug and cigarette money was laundered in these deals, the newspaper writes.

The most suitable companies for the jobs of Stanaj’s group, which Šarić apparently took over, were those dealing with primary agriculture and auto-transport, which also served to "ship the merchandise".

Many of the companies that were used were located close to the administrative boundary with Kosovo, where the main smuggling channels are, or in Vojvodina, because of the large financial potential for putting the money into other businesses, and for easier access to the European Union’s market, the daily adds.

Šarić is currently at large, wanted in Serbia in connection to the cocaine smuggling case, when his gang last year tried to traffic over two tons of cocaine from South America to Europe.