Bečić, Šaranović: No one in Montenegro negotiates with criminals anymore, we now prosecute them without exception

After decades of unchecked corruption and criminal activity, Montenegro finally has a Government that serves the people—rather than one that exploits them—said Deputy Prime Minister Aleksa Bečić and Minister of the Interior Danilo Šaranović.

All we truly needed was the will. Numerous strategic operations led by the prosecution and police have resulted in the arrest and detention of individuals suspected of ties to organized crime and the plundering of the state. No one in Montenegro negotiates with criminals anymore—we now prosecute them without exception, they emphasized.

They stated that all nationally defined priorities in the fight against crime are being implemented according to plan. The latest operation carried out by the Special Police Unit of the Police Administration, in cooperation with the Special State Prosecutor’s Office, confirms the state’s commitment to fully ending cigarette smuggling. Likewise, another in a series of actions by the Sector for combating crime of the Police Administration, conducted in cooperation with the Basic State Prosecutor’s Office in Kotor, sends a clear message that tax evasion and state embezzlement are no longer tolerated.

The continuous dismantling of smuggling networks and unprecedented results in the fight against economic crime are the reasons behind the recent increased attacks on the security sector—but they are also proof that establishing the full rule of law is within reach.

They underlined that strengthening the integrity of the security sector—by freeing institutions from criminal and any other unlawful influence—is precisely why organized crime is now so actively trying to disrupt the strong cooperation between institutions that are enforcing the rule of law and demonstrating the power of the state over the mafia.

This week, I requested from the Minister of the Interior, the Director of the Police Administration, and all organizational units to continue cleansing the security sector of its members who are linked to organized crime and other serious illegal activities, said Deputy Prime Minister Bečić.

If the state wants to earn the respect of its citizens, it must first cleanse itself, Bečić concluded.