How Serbian special prosecutors achieved the unthinkable: a raid on Vučić-linked party figure

Serbia’s organised crime prosecutors kept a major anti-drugs operation secret until the final moment, leading to the arrest of a political figure reportedly close to circles around President Aleksandar Vučić, in a case that is rapidly escalating as prosecutors release details about political links surrounding the investigation.

Police discovered five tonnes of marijuana, packed in hundreds of cardboard boxes, in a warehouse belonging to the company Florakom near Kruševac. The firm is owned by a senior member of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), described by opposition figures as being close to Defence Minister Bratislav Gašić, BGNES reports.

The search was carried out on 29 January at a property in the village of Konjuh, around 200 kilometres south-east of Belgrade, on the orders of the Special Prosecutor’s Office for Organised Crime (TOK). The operation might have remained a routine police action had suspicions not pointed towards circles linked to those in power.

Hours after the raid, leaders of the opposition Democratic Party and the People’s Party of Serbia said that Rade Spasojević, arrested together with his son, was a local SNS representative and close to Gašić, a former head of Serbia’s security agency BIA. They published photos showing them celebrating the party’s patron saint day together.

Gašić did not deny the connection, saying the “historic operation clearly shows that no one in Serbia is protected” and that anyone believing they can hide behind a party card to commit crimes is mistaken. Those involved in criminal activity would be punished in line with the law, he added.

During the operation, police also found four automatic weapons, an anti-tank rocket launcher and €13,000 in cash. The raid concluded with the arrival of Interior Minister Ivica Dačić, the police director and the newly appointed head of the criminal police, Marko Kričak, a figure criticised over alleged violence against students and other protesters in recent months.

While the state leadership has presented the operation as a success in the fight against organised crime and drug trafficking, sources say SNS officials were taken by surprise by TOK’s actions. The special prosecutor’s office has come under increasing pressure over its independence.

According to the independent weekly Radar, prosecutor Irena Bjeloš and inspectors Raša Popović and Nikola Đoković worked on the case for months, monitoring suspects and their communications. The interior minister and the criminal police leadership were reportedly informed only on the day of the raid, once it was already under way. Nevertheless, they later appeared on TV footage from pro-government media, reportedly seeking to credit the Belgrade Higher Prosecutor’s Office, headed by Nenad Stefanović, who is seen as close to the authorities.

Vučić accused of interfering in organised crime probe after major drug seizure

Prosecutors under pressure

TOK has described the case as the work of a criminal group with an international network, with the seized cannabis reportedly originating from North Macedonia. Several suspects remain at large, including alleged organiser Aleksandar Mijailović, for whom an international arrest warrant has been requested.

At the same time, steps have already been taken to limit TOK’s role. Prosecutor Irena Bjeloš is expected to be removed from the case within a month under legal amendments adopted last week that, in practice, aim to dismantle the special prosecutor’s office. According to sources, inspectors Popović and Đoković face reassignment, including the possibility of being transferred to IT departments.

The case has drawn comparisons with the “Jovanjica” affair, in which more than 650 kilograms of cannabis were discovered in 2019. The main suspect in that case was later released, while police officers who uncovered alleged links between the plantation, security services and state structures were sidelined.

“The only chance we have left as a society is for TOK, in its remaining days, to urgently file indictments and arrest all representatives of the authorities involved in crime. There is no other chance,” Belgrade Court of Appeal judge Miodrag Majić told Serbian TV Nova.

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Caption: A video message of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic is screened at the congress of the ruling Fidesz party in Hungexpo event hall in Budapest, Hungary, 10 January 2026. EPA/Robert Hegedus