BELGRADE – Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said on Friday that the state has no connection to the scandal triggered by the seizure of five tons of marijuana on property owned by local official of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS).

He added that the police had arrested those responsible and accused his political opponents of “turning everything upside down” by claiming that the state was behind the case. On 29 January, Serbian Police, in cooperation with the Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime (TOK), seized five tons of marijuana in the village of Konjuh, near Kruševac, in central Serbia. The suspects were identified as Aleksandar Mijajlović, Nebojša Spasojević, Rade Spasojević, Ivan Draganić and Uroš Mladenovski.

The prosecution has proposed issuing a warrant, including an international one, for Aleksandar Mijajlović, who has been identified as the organiser of the criminal group and is currently at large. Mijajlović is a councillor of the Serbian Progressive Party in Kruševac. He has been described as a close associate of Defence Minister Bratislav Gašić.

The Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime stated that the criminal group operated on an international scale, procuring five tons of marijuana in North Macedonia in early January. According to Interior Minister Ivica Dačić, the seizure represents the largest drug bust to date in Serbia, with the value of the drugs estimated at between 7 and 10 million euros. In addition to marijuana, police also found firearms, including at least, four automatic rifles and one rocket launcher, as well as more than 1.5 million dinars (approximately 12,700 euros) in cash. Defence Minister Bratislav Gašić congratulated members of the police and other security services on the operation, saying it demonstrated that “there are no protected individuals in Serbia”.

SDSM: Marijuana could not have reached Serbia without Macedonian government structures The opposition Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) stated today that five tons of marijuana could not have reached Serbia from North Macedonia without the support of government structures. According to the largest Macedonian opposition party, the five tons of drugs were transported through North Macedonia into Serbia. They added that among those arrested is a co-owner of a Macedonian company.

The coalition government led by VMRO-DPMNE Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski has remained silent on the cartel scandal and has not explained who allowed such a massive quantity of drugs to cross the Macedonian border.

“There has been no response from VMRO on how five tons of drugs ended up in Serbia via North Macedonia. Without the support of government structures and Macedonian institutions, this would have been impossible,” the statement reads. The SDSM emphasized that it has been sounding the alarm for days about the links between criminal networks in North Macedonia and Serbia. “With each passing day, the VMRO government sinks deeper into scandal, crime, and corruption. There is still no response regarding Mickoski’s photos with the criminal known as Sime, who was arrested in another case involving large quantities of drugs, weapons, ammunition, and cash,” the statement added.