Dačić's ex-cabinet chief remanded in police custody

Dačić's ex-cabinet chief remanded in police custody

Lazarević was, along with a criminal complaint charging him with disclosure of official secrets and conspiracy to commit criminal acts, taken to the Office of the Prosecutor for Organized Crime, where he will be questioned by the deputy special prosecutor.

After this, the prosecutor will decide whether to place Lazarević in custody.

He is suspected of links with fugitive Darko Šarić, who is tried in absentia for smuggling tons of cocaine from South America.

Dačić's former chief of staff, following media allegations about his connections with Šarić, got a job in the diplomatic service and was sent to the Serbian embassy in Greece, where he serves as charge d'affaires.

The police questioned Lazarević regarding indications that he had contacts with the accused members of Šarić's group and provided information on measures taken to monitor them and intercept their communication.

According to media reports, Lazarević should testify about his contacts with Rodoljub Radulović, aka Miša Banana, who is accused of smuggling cocaine in his ships, and with a lawyer from Novi Sad, Radovan Štrbac, accused of laundering Šarić's money in Serbia.

Dačić has previously admitted that he had met with Radulović, but said he was unaware of his activities, and that he was "disappointed" when he found out.

"I never said I did not know Rodoljub Radulović. I always said that I met him a long time ago, that even my family knew him, he is a public figure that many knew," Dačić said in early December, and added:

"But I also emphasized that the authorities did not warn me about him. I did not even sense that something might be controversial about him. I'm not the only one who knew him. Also, as I've never denied that I knew him, I never failed to mention that I was disappointed at how he hurt me and my family."