Two Belgrade Police Officers Arrested, One an Associate of Veselin Milic
Belgrade's anti-corruption prosecution ordered the arrest of two city police officers suspected of helping armed individuals obtain weapons and clean up records.
- Two officers of the Belgrade City Police Directorate, aged 41 and 36, have been arrested.
- One of the suspects is a close associate of Veselin Milic, the former head of the Belgrade police.
- They are suspected of helping a man identified as M. R. obtain a large number of firearms and collector permits.
- The arrests were ordered by the Special Anti-Corruption Department of the Belgrade Higher Public Prosecutor's Office, with detention lasting up to 48 hours.
The Special Anti-Corruption Department of the Belgrade Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office ordered the arrest on Tuesday, June 2, of two officers of the Belgrade City Police Directorate. The officers are aged 41 and 36, and one of them, according to the prosecution, is a close associate of Veselin Milic, the former head of the Belgrade police.
Both are charged with abuse of official position. After being taken into custody they were placed under detention that may last up to 48 hours, after which the prosecution will decide whether to seek pre-trial custody. Legal observers see the case as a new strand in the long-running effort to untangle the links between part of the police force and the criminal underworld.
What are the suspects accused of?
According to the prosecution’s order, the two officers allegedly enabled a man identified as M. R. to again obtain a large number of firearms. The man had already been flagged as a security concern, and several police directorates had previously rejected his earlier requests precisely for security reasons.
Despite those rejections, the suspects are said to have facilitated collector permits for weapons for M. R. Investigators suspect this circumvented the procedure that was meant to keep firearms out of the hands of individuals assessed as risky.
The investigation is also examining the so-called cleaning of records. There is suspicion that certain files were altered or removed in order to ease the operations and movement of armed individuals. The prosecution has not yet disclosed how many permits and firearms are covered by the inquiry in total.
Key questions the investigation is working to clarify include:
- who approved the disputed collector permits, and in what order
- whether M. R. used the weapons or resold them
- how many officers in total were aware of the disputed actions
- whether there is any link to earlier cases against members of the Belgrade police
Why does the arrest of a Milic associate matter?
Veselin Milic was for years one of the most influential figures in the Belgrade police. His name has come up before in connection with investigations into ties between the police apparatus and certain criminal groups. The arrest of a man who was his close associate therefore carries weight beyond a single case file.
The judiciary is treating this case as a test of the state’s ability to prosecute, within its own ranks, those who have abused public trust. The Special Anti-Corruption Department was created specifically for cases in which the suspects hold public authority, which signals the seriousness the prosecution attaches to the matter.
For now, the case remains at the pre-trial stage, meaning the suspects enjoy the presumption of innocence until any guilt is established by a final court ruling. The prosecution is expected to announce its next steps, including a possible request for custody and the extension of the investigation to other individuals, once the detention period expires.
How will public trust in the police be affected by the fact that one of the suspects is an associate of the former top officer of the Belgrade force?
