Darko Asanin Arrested

The Greek police arrested Darko Asanin on the island of Thasos recently under an Interpol warrant. Asanin lives near Belgrade in the poor village of Krnjesevac. Just days after he checked into the hotel he chose for his vacation with his wife, son, and in-laws the police arrested him on suspicion of having killed an Albanian in Belgium, Asanin's close friends said. The Albanian was Enver Hadriu (47), an émigré from Kosovo who came to Brussels in 1960 and was chairman of the committee for Albanian rights which means an attractive target to any service specialized for eliminating "enemies of the people". Hadriu was killed in broad daylight on February 25, 1990 in central Brussels.

Only Interpol and the Belgian police know what evidence they have against Asanin. He denied any link with the killing during his arrest. Allegedly he hasn't been turned over to the Belgian authorities yet and his close friends said pressure was being brought to bear to get him released and brought back to Yugoslavia.

Asanin was an unknown up to five years ago, until the killing of Andrija Lakonic in Belgrade's Nana night club, a favorite spot for successful people with no defined occupation, including some professional killers; criminals used at times by some services. Asanin was charged with that killing but he was freed by the Belgrade district court.

That was the first time police cooperation with criminals who traveled abroad on missions was revealed. They were paid vast amounts for the missions, usually well informed sources said, through winnings in casinos. Then police minister Radmilo Bogdanovic categorically claimed the Serbian police had nothing to do with those shady deals and promised to reveal the names of the people involved but that ended there.

After the Nana killing, a lot of Belgrade police chiefs were dismissed and Asanin went to live in the village where he has a glass shop and casino. His estate is surrounded by a high fence and dominated by the tower he lives in. The casino saw huge winnings and losses. Neighbors said guests included a variety of well-known and prominent figures; diplomats, politicians, singers, police etc.

"Darko knows all the entertainers," his friends said. Neighbors said they saw a famous singer arrive in her Mercedes and leave in a taxi. We also know that a well-known singer lost 35,000 DEM one night but was given back the money by Asanin and told not to gamble in his place any more because they are friends. The singer came back, won 39,000 DEM and was beaten, his winnings taken away and he and his wife had to walk back to Belgrade. Radovan Karadzic and Biljana Plavsic have been seen there.

Asanin is said to have many friends. He keeps his doors open and can get virtually anything done. A casino and cafe on Kopaonik, gas stations, casino in Herceg Novi. The Herceg Novi casino went broke last spring when friends of Aca Djukanovic, brother to Montenegrin prime minister Milo, had problems collecting their winnings. There was even some shootings.

Despite everything, Asanin is very rich. Villagers say he bought up land to raise horses and build a race track. He employs a number of discrete, trustworthy people and wherever he went two carloads of bodyguards followed him.

It's interesting the foreign press paid more attention than the press here. For example, Germany's Die Welt reported in August that Asanin is "believed to be the cocaine king in Yugoslavia and the richest man in Montenegro". We know reliably that Asanin's name is on US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) lists. DEA officers asked discrete questions about Asanin a few years back.

What we don't know is how Asanin was careless enough to go to Greece, knowing Interpol was after him and that Germany has him listed as public enemy number one. Allegedly, he used his own passport but his close friend (a former policeman) said he had a passport under a different name. Belgrade's underworld is convinced he was turned over to Interpol by the people who gave him the passport. He was warned that he could be arrested in Greece but Asanin just shrugged those warnings off. His friends are optimists and believe he will return to Yugoslavia.