Officials address public after fugitive's arrest

Officials address public after fugitive's arrest

Vučić specified that those methods included "secret following of the (Šarić) clan members for 270 days, constant monitoring of facilities, GPS locating on 20 buildings, intercepting of emails and internet communications, eavesdropping in open air and indoors, secret searches in various locations, collaborative network abroad and in the country, including collaboration with partner agencies."

He also said that Šarić "arrived to the Montenegrin airport on a plane of a Latin American nation." The fugitive was allowed to stay a while in the airport's "international zone in order to see his family," said Vučić, and added this was "the only condition that Šarić made." Competent authorities of Serbia took him over from this Montenegrin airport and he arrived in Belgrade, according to Vučić.

Vučić also said that a special BIA team worked with "at least 15 services," and expressed special gratitude to the American CIA.

"After locating all movements and the network of Darko Šarić in four Latin American countries, we started the conversation within the BIA about how and in what way to conduct the arrest. Special thanks go to the Ministry of Justice of Montenegro with whom we coordinated all actions in accordance with the signed agreement," Vučić said.

"After the locating, and obviously clear tip-offs and realization that he was located, on February 24 Šarić's defense lawyer called the government of Serbia and offered the unconditional surrender of his client, which we accepted for several reasons. First, there would be no delays with the extradition procedure, then in order to avoid bloodshed, and so that Darko Šarić faces the competent state authorities as soon as possible," Vučić said.

"I hope that the judicial system in Serbia will in an efficient and fair procedure satisfy justice, that the perpetrators of the most serious crimes will be punished, or if they are found not guilty, acquitted," he concluded.

Darko Šarić surrendered to the Serbian authorities unconditionally when he realized he was located, and did so "in order to avoid bloodshed," Justice Minister Nikola Selaković said earlier, addressing a news conference.

It was specified that Šarić's movements were tracked "in four Latin American countries."

Selaković also said that negotiations with Šarić started a month and a half ago.

Responding to questions from reporters, he said it was "hardly possible that Šarićwas hiding for the last four and a half years alone and with no helpers," and said his location and arrest was being worked on "for the past nine and a half months."

"I made it very clear that he was staying in the territory of several countries in Latin America. We cannot tell you more details about that at this time," he said during the news conference.

No details

Serbia's Organized Crime Prosecutor Miljko Radisavljević has said that it is in the interest of the investigation not to give precise information about the locating and manner in which Darko Šarić was arrested as 18 of his associates are still at large.

A total of 15 persons are suspected of cocaine trafficking, while three are believed to be involved in money laundering, he said, adding that it is still being worked on locating and arresting of these suspects and therefore the details of Šarić's locating and surrender will not be made public, Radisavljević underlined.

Šarić is charged with trafficking 5, 754 kilograms of drug as of 2009 and laundering EUR 22 million in Serbia.

He expressed satisfaction that Šarić is in custody, adding that this is the result of a committed work of the Security Information Agency (BIA), the Ministry of the Interior and the Bureau for Coordination of Security Services.

“The fact that we have established an intensive cooperation with colleagues from other countries and today's result (the arrest) is an outcome of our joint work and cooperation with all colleagues across the world,” Radisavljević said.