Minister: Šarić was not hiding in Montenegro

Minister: Šarić was not hiding in Montenegro

"Then the transfer took place and the whole operation of the transfer of Darko Šarić via Montenegro lasted from 06:30 until 07:30 this morning."

Marković told a news conference that Šarić was handed over to Serbian authorities on Tuesday morning, and that it was "indisputable that operative efforts of the two countries' service had led to locating the most wanted narco-boss."

Responding to questions from reporters, Marković said that Šarić "was not arrested 15 days ago."

"He was taken over in the territory of a Latin American country and transferred via Montenegro to Serbia," said the Montenegrin minister, and added:

"I assume that Šarić was arrested yesterday in Latin America. Montenegro is not the country where Šarić was hiding. Even if I knew where he was caught I could not tell you because of the proceedings in Serbia. I claim that Šarić was only in Montenegro this morning, in the period between 06:30 and 07:30."

Marković said he was unable to provide more details about Šarić's arrest, his helpers, and about where and how he was hiding.

Asked whether arrests of persons who worked with Šarić and allowed him to flee Montenegro can now be expected, the minister responded by saying that Šarić's arrest was "confirmation that the two countries are determined to cooperate on most important issues."

"Nobody can any longer bring this determination into question. This operation has the goal of exposing the whole network. The arrest is not sufficient, I believe there will be success in arriving at most of his associates in that criminal network, and Serbian Minister of Justice Nikola Selaković himself hinted at that," said Marković.

The minister also stated that Šarić's arrest was "good for Montenegro considering public manipulations about him hiding there," and added that this was refuted on Tuesday.