Tobacco Mafia defendant pleads not guilty

Sinisa Stojcic, charged with illegally importing and selling cigarettes in the 1990s, yesterday pled not guilty. He told the Special Organized Crime Department of the Belgrade District Court that it is impossible that his brother, former deputy interior minister Radovan Stojcic, a.k.a. Badza, "who fought against crime, could have organized a criminal group", the so-called Tobacco Mafia. Tobacco Mafia defendant pleads not guilty Sojcic said that the charges are a "product of hate against his brother and his business success". He added his brother, a high-ranking MUP commander during the Milosevic regime, could not have smuggled and sold cigarettes illegally in 1997, because he was killed in April 1997. “My brother Radovan was killed on April 11, 1997, the 11 year anniversary of his death is in five days, and this indictment stated that he organized a criminal group, but the prosecutors have yet to issue an indictment for the criminal group that killed him,” Stojcic told the judges. He said that his brother probably “lost his head, because he was trying to stop several tycoons and the political elite,” and asked “whether his murder was being excused with this indictment.” The charges say that Radovan Stojcic abused his official position in order to stop aprobe from finding out who committed criminal activities in the Nis-based R-5 Company, which was owned by his brother Sinisa Stojcic. Sinisa described his brother as an "educated police officer – if I committed any kind of crime he would have arrested me and made an example out of me.” He said that the indictment is based on several accidental events, one being a night when the truck of Zeljko Raznatovic, a.k.a. Arkan, full of cigarettes was in one of his company’s depots. “In March 1997, Raznatovic called and asked if I could store some products for him,” Stojcic said, adding that someone then called the police and told them that there were cigarettes in the trucks. He said that inspectors checked the trucks and saw the cigarettes, but that when they found out who the truck belonged to, they called Arkan to pick them up, which he did. A group of nine people is being charged for illegally importing and selling cigarettes on the territory of Serbia in 1997, costing the state about USD 2mn. Stojcic was indicted as the leader of the group, along with his late brother, with the help of customs workers and company officials who enabled the cigarettes to enter the country illegally. The packs of cigarettes were labeled as other products and then taken to Stojcic’s warehouses, from where they were distributed around the country and sold, the prosecution claims. The indictment includes charges against former Deputy Interior Minister Stojan Misic, former Interior Secretariat Chief in Nis Radisav Gvozdenovic, former Interior Secretariat Chief in Zajecar Nenad Zivadinovic, Nebojsa Nikolic and Zdravko Hristov.

Tobacco Mafia defendant pleads not guilty

Sojčić said that the charges are a "product of hate against his brother and his business success".

He added his brother, a high-ranking MUP commander during the Milošević regime, could not have smuggled and sold cigarettes illegally in 1997, because he was killed in April 1997.

“My brother Radovan was killed on April 11, 1997, the 11 year anniversary of his death is in five days, and this indictment stated that he organized a criminal group, but the prosecutors have yet to issue an indictment for the criminal group that killed him,” Stojčić told the judges.

He said that his brother probably “lost his head, because he was trying to stop several tycoons and the political elite,” and asked “whether his murder was being excused with this indictment.”

The charges say that Radovan Stojčić abused his official position in order to stop aprobe from finding out who committed criminal activities in the Niš-based R-5 Company, which was owned by his brother Siniša Stojčić.

Siniša described his brother as an "educated police officer – if I committed any kind of crime he would have arrested me and made an example out of me.”

He said that the indictment is based on several accidental events, one being a night when the truck of Željko Ražnatović, a.k.a. Arkan, full of cigarettes was in one of his company’s depots.

“In March 1997, Ražnatović called and asked if I could store some products for him,” Stojčić said, adding that someone then called the police and told them that there were cigarettes in the trucks.

He said that inspectors checked the trucks and saw the cigarettes, but that when they found out who the truck belonged to, they called Arkan to pick them up, which he did.

A group of nine people is being charged for illegally importing and selling cigarettes on the territory of Serbia in 1997, costing the state about USD 2mn.

Stojčić was indicted as the leader of the group, along with his late brother, with the help of customs workers and company officials who enabled the cigarettes to enter the country illegally.

The packs of cigarettes were labeled as other products and then taken to Stojčić’s warehouses, from where they were distributed around the country and sold, the prosecution claims.

The indictment includes charges against former Deputy Interior Minister Stojan Mišić, former Interior Secretariat Chief in Niš Radisav Gvozdenović, former Interior Secretariat Chief in Zaječar Nenad Živadinović, Nebojša Nikolić and Zdravko Hristov.