Suspected drug lord's "associate" sent to jail

The District Court in Banja Luka, RS, passed a guilty verdict and sentenced Zoran Ćopić to five years in prison for money laundering.

Source: Tanjug

Thursday, 02.08.2012.

20:08

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BANJA LUKA The District Court in Banja Luka, RS, passed a guilty verdict and sentenced Zoran Copic to five years in prison for money laundering. According to the ruling, Copic was legalizing the money suspected crime kingpin Darko Saric earned through drug trafficking. Suspected drug lord's "associate" sent to jail The trial took ten months to complete. Another defendant - Banja Luka-based Aviorent company owner Drago Nizola was also found guilty and sentenced to four months in jail. Agrokop company Director Ljubo Mrdjen, who was also indicted in the case, signed a plea bargain agreement earlier and was given a six-month prison term. The ruling confirmed the prosecution's allegations that Copic associated himself with Saric and other persons prosecuted in Serbia in a Belgrade Higher Court case, in order to channel Saric's drug money into legitimate businesses in the Serb entity in Bosnia (RS) and in Serbia. Copic was engaged in this criminal activity from 2008 until 2010. He was found guilty of using several offshore companies and business banks to inject a large amount of dirty money into the said businesses, including to buy stock in the Bijeljina, RS, sugar mill, Judge Olga Panic stated. If Thursday's ruling becomes final, Copic's property worth some EUR 10mn will be confiscated. Meanwhile Darko Saric - a Montenegrin who was in the mid-2000s given Serbian citizenship - remains at large and is wanted by the Serbian judiciary in connection to an attempt to smuggle nearly three tons of cocaine from South America to Europe. Tanjug

Suspected drug lord's "associate" sent to jail

The trial took ten months to complete. Another defendant - Banja Luka-based Aviorent company owner Drago Nižola was also found guilty and sentenced to four months in jail.

Agrokop company Director Ljubo Mrđen, who was also indicted in the case, signed a plea bargain agreement earlier and was given a six-month prison term.

The ruling confirmed the prosecution's allegations that Ćopić associated himself with Šarić and other persons prosecuted in Serbia in a Belgrade Higher Court case, in order to channel Šarić's drug money into legitimate businesses in the Serb entity in Bosnia (RS) and in Serbia.

Ćopić was engaged in this criminal activity from 2008 until 2010.

He was found guilty of using several offshore companies and business banks to inject a large amount of dirty money into the said businesses, including to buy stock in the Bijeljina, RS, sugar mill, Judge Olga Panić stated.

If Thursday's ruling becomes final, Ćopić's property worth some EUR 10mn will be confiscated.

Meanwhile Darko Šarić - a Montenegrin who was in the mid-2000s given Serbian citizenship - remains at large and is wanted by the Serbian judiciary in connection to an attempt to smuggle nearly three tons of cocaine from South America to Europe.

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