Abazovic gives statement to prosecution: I had to present information about cigarette smuggling in Montenegro

Photo: Tanjug/AP

Montenegrin Prime Minister in the technical mandate Dritan Abazovic presented today to the Special State Prosecutor's Office (SDT) all the information he has regarding the smuggling of cigarettes, which, he claims, is closely related to the smuggling of cocaine in Montenegro's Port of Bar.

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Abazovic told journalists after leaving the SDT premises that this time he said all the names, of companies and of individuals.

"I had to express the road map of cigarette smuggling in Montenegro. Cigarette smuggling takes the largest share in organized crime, my thesis remains - by destroying cigarette smuggling, the pyramid of cocaine smuggling will also be destroyed," said Abazovic.

Abazovic added that he is convinced that the hand of justice will reach everyone and that the state will do everything to protect the special state prosecutor, who has only one task - to continue as he started and to be determined in implementing the law.

Abazovic, who heads the government that is now in a technical mandate, says that everything in Montenegro is connected to cigarette smuggling.

The prime minister repeated that his government fell because of the shedding of light on the murder of the editor-in-chief of the newspaper Dan, Dusko Jovanovic - a killing where those involved in it have links to cigarette smuggling.

He said that he will present every matter that needs to be presented to the public and stressed that he tried to share his knowledge about cigarette smuggling with former SDT head Milivoj Katnic, but realized that he the prosecutor did not want that.

Abazovic said that Minister of Defense Rasko Konjevic has never, since he has been in that position, mentioned corruption, but that he mentions Russia, Serbia, the Chetniks and the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) every day.

"Konjevic did not convene a single session of the Bureau for Operational Coordination," said Abazovic.

When asked why they waited for the government to fall, and then come out with this information, Abazovic said that everyone is informed.

"Their task was to inform me. Considering that not everything functions in Montenegro, when I decided to move on, I moved on. My timeline is like that. I said that I can do this both as a citizen and as an opposition politician, but the goal is to expose everything. They know that there is no compromise with Dritan Abazovic," said the outgoing prime minister.

As Podgorica media reported, he told journalists that he was satisfied and that the prosecutors needed time.

He said he spoke about a period covering three, four years.

Abazovic submitted prepared documentation to the SDT and presented the scheme of cigarette smuggling in Montenegro, the scheme of related persons and companies, which he previously spoke about in the Assembly.

(Telegraf.rs/Tanjug)