Explosives stashed in Vojvodina official's apartment

Police in Novi Sad have seized an undisclosed amount of explosives in an apartment "belonging to the husband" of an advisor to Bojan Pajtic. Pajtic is the head of the Vojvodina Executive Council. A Serbian police (MUP) source has confirmed for Beta news agency that the raid did take place, but denied that it had anything to do with the Central Europe Summit held in the town this week. Explosives stashed in Vojvodina official's apartment The "processing" took longer in this case, the MUP source said. Novi Sad District Court on-duty Investigative Judge Nenad Simovic said that he had "heard about the event", and that it was handled by the Municipal Court, while this court's judge, Branka Perisic, confirmed that explosives had been confiscated, but "did not know in what amount". The media reports, in the meantime, are mentioning from four to ten kilograms. Belgrade's Blic newspaper says that the police made the seizure several days ahead of the summit in several Novi Sad apartments of 46-year-old Ivan Djukanovic, and describes the explosives as "powerful". Djukanovic, whose wife is a Vojvodina Executive Council official, was arrested on June 15. The newspaper says that the police decided to keep Djukanovic in detention after the arrest, which MUP decided to hide from the public. An investigation will now determine "the suspect's overall criminal activities". Blic says that Djukanovic has a police record and that he was under surveillance for some time. Four years ago he was arrested because he traded in explosive devices. The explosive found on Monday, the newspaper specifies, is the powerful highly-brisant trotile, with five times the destructive power of regular plastic explosives, while the amount, said to be ten kilograms, "would suffice to blow Novi Sad's Sloboda bridge to smithereens". The black market price for the explosives is EUR 3,000-5,000 per kilogram. A police source who spoke to the newspaper said that Djukanovic's arrest days ahead of the summit was a coincidence, and that it was kept a secret "in order to avoid causing panic". According to the same source, the suspect hid the explosives in several rented apartments. Remote control devices were also seized during the police raids. Meanwhile, his wife, identified as Tanja Djukanovic, "has not been seen at work" in the Vojvodina Executive Council since the day of her husband's arrest, writes Blic. NS Kriminal website says that Djukanovic was previously known to the public when he removed a machine gun from a police APC during the anti-Milosevic demonstrations in March 1991. Several years later, then deputy commander of the Serb Volunteer Guard and gangster Branislav Lainovic a.k.a. Dugi shot at him, the website says. It has also emerged that Djukanovic was a member of the Serb Renewal Movement (SPO). The party confirmed that he was the person who removed the machine gun from the police vehicle during the protests, but added that after the shooting in Novi Sad in 1994, he "withdrew from the party".

Explosives stashed in Vojvodina official's apartment

The "processing" took longer in this case, the MUP source said.

Novi Sad District Court on-duty Investigative Judge Nenad Simović said that he had "heard about the event", and that it was handled by the Municipal Court, while this court's judge, Branka Perišić, confirmed that explosives had been confiscated, but "did not know in what amount".

The media reports, in the meantime, are mentioning from four to ten kilograms.

Belgrade's Blic newspaper says that the police made the seizure several days ahead of the summit in several Novi Sad apartments of 46-year-old Ivan Đukanović, and describes the explosives as "powerful".

Đukanović, whose wife is a Vojvodina Executive Council official, was arrested on June 15.

The newspaper says that the police decided to keep Đukanović in detention after the arrest, which MUP decided to hide from the public. An investigation will now determine "the suspect's overall criminal activities".

Blic says that Đukanović has a police record and that he was under surveillance for some time. Four years ago he was arrested because he traded in explosive devices.

The explosive found on Monday, the newspaper specifies, is the powerful highly-brisant trotile, with five times the destructive power of regular plastic explosives, while the amount, said to be ten kilograms, "would suffice to blow Novi Sad's Sloboda bridge to smithereens".

The black market price for the explosives is EUR 3,000-5,000 per kilogram.

A police source who spoke to the newspaper said that Đukanović's arrest days ahead of the summit was a coincidence, and that it was kept a secret "in order to avoid causing panic".

According to the same source, the suspect hid the explosives in several rented apartments. Remote control devices were also seized during the police raids.

Meanwhile, his wife, identified as Tanja Đukanović, "has not been seen at work" in the Vojvodina Executive Council since the day of her husband's arrest, writes Blic.

NS Kriminal website says that Đukanović was previously known to the public when he removed a machine gun from a police APC during the anti-Milošević demonstrations in March 1991.

Several years later, then deputy commander of the Serb Volunteer Guard and gangster Branislav Lainović a.k.a. Dugi shot at him, the website says.

It has also emerged that Đukanović was a member of the Serb Renewal Movement (SPO).

The party confirmed that he was the person who removed the machine gun from the police vehicle during the protests, but added that after the shooting in Novi Sad in 1994, he "withdrew from the party".