The Mafia is an Italian, Not a Montenegrin Problem

The serious allegations made by Italian Minister of Finance Ottavio del Turco against Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic in the interview given to the Roman daily newspaper “Republicca” have stunned Montenegro.  The allegations include involvement in cigarette trafficking across the Adriatic, in ties with the Italian Mafia, and even protection he gives to known Italian Mafiosi (among them members of the Prudentino Family, one of whom was recently arrested in Thessalonica).  Montenegrin Chief of Diplomacy Branko Lukovac reacted to the allegations made by the Italian minister with an open letter in which he denies everything del Turca cites.  It has also been made public that the Minister of Police, Vukasin Maras has directed a letter to his Italian colleague in which he demanded explanations for the allegations made by del Turca, all of which differ from the opinions held by the Italian police and diplomacy in the past two to three years.

In all of these reactions, Ottaviano del Turca’s efforts are interpreted as politically motivated against the Montenegrin President, especially at a time when important decisions need to be made regarding the status of Montenegro.  The allegations made by the Italian Minister of Finance are taken as a starting point for an interview with Vuk Boskovic, Assistant Minister of Police of Montenegro, who pulled out many documents in support of his arguments, asserting that the level of crime in Montenegro is considerably lower than in neighboring states.

VREME:  Are the allegations made by Minister Ottaviano del Turca correct?

BOSKOVIC:  This is not the first time that Mr. del Turca is appearing before the Italian public and the international public at large with statements whose objective is to create the impression that Montenegro is a barrier to Italy’s dealing with the problem of organized crime.  However, Mr. del Turca forgets that the problem of organized is originally the problem of Italy and not the problem of Montenegro, at least not any more so than of Italy’s other neighbors.  That is why the degree of my astonishment is that much greater at the falsehoods Mr. del Turca stated in the Roman daily newspaper “Republicca”, without substantiating any of them with arguments, and especially because of allegations made against the President of Montenegro.

I think that Mr. del Turca either did not want to, or had different reasons for not wanting to adequately asses the activities of the Montenegrin police and its accomplishments in its battle against all forms of crime, forgetting at the same time the very fruitful cooperation between the Montenegrin and Italian police forces, which the highest Italian officials cited as good examples of cooperation between police forces in the region, which was always accompanied by praise for results achieved in this area.  At the same time, it seems to me that that it is not accidental that prior to any significant political decision being made in Montenegro, Mr. del Turco surprises the Italian public with some sensational discovery of Montenegrin involvement in crime, clearly demonstrating in this way the intention and the objective his statements have set; although it is completely clear that they have always been synchronized, and I would even say identical with the allegations coming from Belgrade, which were well known to us in Montenegro.

VREME:  Minister del Turco specifically mentions that Montenegro, that is to say President Djukanovic, offered exile and protection to members of the Prudentino Family, especially to Francesco, who has recently been arrested in Thessalonica.  Has Francesco Prudentino or any other member of that Family every stayed in Montenegro?

BOSKOVIC:  Montenegro and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Montenegro never provided exile to any criminal from any country, Italian citizens included, and there is no dilemma as to that question.  I wish to point out that Montenegro, without any breaks, even at the time of sanctions and the freezing of its membership in Interpol, has always participated actively in security issues and has established bilateral cooperation with all neighboring states, including Italy.  At that time, whenever we received a request from any police force, including the Italian police, to check whether their citizen who is wanted domestically or internationally because of criminal activities is located on our territory, and provided personal information on the basis of which their actual identity could be ascertained (it is well known that criminals use false I.D.), the Montenegrin police always located such persons, arrested them and handed them over to those countries which sought them, as well as to the Italian police.  Every such request was fulfilled completely.

VREME:  Does the possibility exist that Francesco Prudentino stayed in Montenegro under a false identity?

BOSKOVIC:  As I already stated, it is not unknown that criminals use false identities.  However, what is known with certainty is that from the moment that the Italian police provided the Montenegrin police with information on identity, with a photograph and other information, and a request that an individual by the name of Francesco Prudentiano  should be arrested if he is found in Montenegro and should be handed over to Italian police – it is quite certain that from that moment on he did not reside in Montenegro, nor was his entry into Montenegro from that time on registered in any way.

VREME:  Rumors have started some time ago about an Italian colony in Montenegro whose members dabble in various things and are known as businessmen.  Somehow at the same time as this colony took root, allegations begun coming from Italian authorities that Montenegro is a Mafia sanctuary, that it is one of the bases of cigarette trafficking across the Adriatic Sea, as well as that there are all too many people in this colony who are being sought by Italian justice.  When did cooperation between Montenegrin and Italian police forces begin in this area and how many individuals have been delivered to Italian justice?

BOSKOVIC:  After sanctions were introduced against Yugoslavia and therefore against Montenegro as well, our membership in Interpol was frozen and there was no contact between the Montenegrin and Italian police forces until 1995.  Since that time, when our first contact was made, I would separate our cooperation into two periods.  The first goes from 1995 to September 30, 1999, and the second from that time to the present.

In the first period of cooperation the Montenegrin and Italian police had five working meetings in which various issues were discussed.  Among other things, the Italian side gave us identification information for six individuals for whose arrest there is an outstanding warrant in Italy, with a request that should they come to Montenegro, that we should arrest them and hand them over to the Italian police.  In all six cases, the Montenegrin police acted to identify these individuals, arresting them and in extradition proceedings handed them over to the Italian police.

It should be made clear that all six requests were not submitted in one go, but continuously through the period between 1995 and 1999.  Such efficiency on the part of the Montenegrin police is proof of good will and readiness to treat professionally every request made by the Italian police in arresting and extraditing individuals under warrants.  Therefore, in this period the Montenegrin police demonstrated its attitude toward the Italian side, with this only having stepped up in the second period.

On September 30, 1999, a meeting was held in Podgorica between the Italian and Montenegrin police forces and a Memorandum on Cooperation and Understanding between the two forces was drawn up, with common interests and modes and ways of realizing that cooperation being defined, especially with regard to across-the-border crime.  After this our cooperation became institutional cooperation, with a certain number of requests being made by the Italian police, with all identity information for checking whether individuals who are of interest to them are residing on our territory.

Our police located, arrested and extradited 35 of their citizens.  Francesco Prudentino and all information relating to him was on that list.  However, after all checks were made, our police concluded that an individual fitting that description did not reside in Montenegro then or now, of which we informed the Italian police promptly.

VREME:  What is the fundamental problem of locating Italians in Montenegro who are sought by Italian police?

BOSKOVIC:  As I already said, until the 1999 Memorandum and the signing of the Adriatic Convention in Bari, except for the six individuals I said we arrested and handed over, the Italian police did not provide us with information on the basis of which we could establish the real identity of the individuals they are looking for.

I wish to point out that the Italian side did not respond to our request for getting official information on the progress of the investigations conducted against the individuals that the Montenegrin police handed over to the Italian police.

VREME:  Were these difficulties the reason for the opening of the Interpol office in Bar?

BOSKOVIC:  A Montenegrin police office was opened in Italy, and an Italian police office was opened in Montenegro in order to facilitate cooperation between the Italian and Montenegrin police forces, as is stipulated in the Memorandum on Cooperation and Understanding.  The objective of opening these two offices is fast exchange of information, better cooperation and concrete effects.

I think that this form of cooperation has been completely successful, which is confirmed by frequent contacts with the Italian police chief in Bari, who has confirmed the efficiency of the Montenegrin police and its intention in preventing all criminals who are sought in Italy from residing in Montenegro.  All Italian high police officials pointed this out thus far and I also had the opportunity to hear this from the Italian Undersecretary of Police.  That is why I must return once again to the statements made by Mr. del Turca which astonish me and which bring into question this form of cooperation and the purpose for having the Italian police office in Bar.  It seems to me that his comments do a disservice to our joint battle against organized crime.  However, the Montenegrin police intends to continue to fight against all forms of crime with equal intensity.

VREME:  The media reported that Montenegrin police representatives went to Italy on several occasions and discussed joint actions on curbing crime on the Adriatic, with new initiatives being started in that area.  What was negotiated and how is it being realized?

BOSKOVIC:  After the signing of the Memorandum several meetings followed, both in Podgorica and in Rome, both with regard to the Adriatic-Ionian initiative and all other bilateral contacts, regarding all of which the Italian police expressed truly high opinion of the degree of cooperation and the efficiency of the Montenegrin police.  They pointed out the fact that we responded to every request made by the Italian police, especially noting that no criminal sought by the Italian police is residing on Montenegrin territory.  Of course, in these contacts discussions were held on other forms of cooperation.  Modes of cooperation with regard to preventing illegal immigration were discussed, with significant results having been achieved in that area as well.

The satisfaction we feel toward the results of our cooperation which have been expressed on more than one occasion by both sides is precisely the reason why we did not pay special attention to the biased mention of Montenegro in the Italian media.

VREME:  What can you tell us about the drug, arms and human trafficking which according to some Italian officials is also conducted from the territory of Montenegro?

BOSKOVIC:  The information possessed by the Montenegrin police unequivocally indicates that the border between Montenegro and Italy is not a path across which drugs and arms are being smuggled, and this conviction is supported by the fact that the Italian police has not informed our police of any information that indicates that there is drug and arms trafficking taking part between the shores of our two states.  Of course, the Montenegrin police is taking precautions on an ongoing basis with regard to controlling such activities, so that we would have noted their occurrence, if there were any, if only nominally, and I’m sure that the Italian side would inform us of all such information.

The Montenegrin police has greatly contributed to the prevention of human trafficking and illegal immigration between the shores of Montenegro and Italy.  In this area, the Montenegrin police patrolled the border at a time when the state borders were under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Yugoslav Army.  In year 2000 alone, several channels of illegal Chinese trafficking were cut off when 137 Chinese were discovered in an attempt to cross over into Italy.  With the appropriate reports they were handed over to state officials and their resident status was revoked, while the organizers (who included members of the Yugoslav Army) were investigated.  During our investigation it was firmly ascertained that Chinese citizens came from Beijing  on documents regularly issued in Belgrade, from where they went via trafficking channels in attempting to reach Italian territory.

Also, the trafficking channels into Italy for Gypsies who came into Montenegro from Serbia and Kosovo during the NATO bombing have been siphoned off.

Today, with the benefit of this temporal distance, I can observe with pleasure that the problems of illegal human transportation from one shore to the other have been completely solved.  This is also proved by the statement made by the Italian police which we heard recently which notes that the trafficking channels have moved to their northern border, with other states becoming destinations for illegal trafficking.  Montenegro is evidently not a path available to the trafficking of people from one shore to the other.

The Montenegrin police has achieved significant results in cutting off the white slave trade with women from Eastern European countries who were intended to reach Italy.  In year 2000 alone we revoked resident status to 610 individuals so that today I can say with pleasure that Montenegro is a model in this respect in the entire region.  Namely, for already some time Montenegro has not registered an instance such trade, and this is one more segment in which we have achieved significant results.

VREME:  Finally, could a “great earthquake” take place in Montenegro if the arrested Mafiosi begin to talk, as Minister del Turco tells?

BOSKOVIC:  Minister del Turco can say what he wants, but there will be no “earthquake” in Montenegro.  Montenegro is a serious, lawful state in which no one who brakes the law can find protection.  What must be clear to Mr. del Turco, and is clear to everyone, is the fact that the Montenegrin police is doing its job.  The fact that Mr. del Turco’s statements are not founded in fact is evident in that we requested information from the Italian police and justice officials on many occasions, both verbally and in written form, regarding individuals we deported to them, information which related to their stay in Montenegro or any other information about crimes they could have perpetrated in Montenegro.  To this very day we did not get any information.  On the contrary, we were always told that the Italian government does not have any information which provides a link between these people and any criminal acts perpetrated in Montenegro.