Rocket launcher and sniper rifle seized in Herceg Novi
Montenegrin police found a rocket launcher, a sniper rifle with its serial number filed off and detonator caps in safe houses near Herceg Novi. Four people arrested in 48 hours.
The Police Directorate of Montenegro has traced a set of so called safe houses in the Herceg Novi area, flats it believes were used by internationally wanted fugitives and members of organized crime groups. Searches turned up an M80 Zolja hand held rocket launcher, a sniper rifle with an optical sight and electronic detonator caps. Four people have been arrested in the past 48 hours.
What was found in the safe houses
According to the police account, the seized material includes:
- a sniper rifle with an optical sight and its serial number filed off
- automatic rifles, a Thompson submachine gun and large calibre Winchester rifles with no serial numbers
- an M80 Zolja rocket launcher, electronic detonator caps and parts of an improvised explosive device
- PVC packages resembling explosive, silicone masks, licence plates and concealed cameras
- large quantities of ammunition in various calibres
Officers say none of it can be explained by a permit, by hunting or by sport.
What was found is weaponry of high destructive potential that cannot be linked to any lawful use, but rather to the commission of the gravest criminal offences.
The police claim goes only that far: the arsenal was meant for the gravest offences. The silicone masks, someone else’s licence plates and the surveillance gear point to a preparation stage, and the sheer spread of what came out of two flats is hard to square with a single target. That last reading is ours, not a line from the statement.
Who was arrested
N. T. (49) and S. S. (40) from Herceg Novi are charged with unlawful possession and carrying of weapons and explosive substances. The flats belong to N. T. A third man, N. M. (34) from Niksic, is suspected of helping a fugitive stay hidden.
The fourth is Andrej Tanaskovski, a 19 year old citizen of North Macedonia. He was arrested on July 28 in a safe house outside Niksic after almost a year in hiding.
Why is the teenager the most important arrest here?
Tanaskovski is suspected of the attempted murder of Marko Ljubisa Kan (56) from Budva, described by police and by local media as a senior figure in the Skaljari cell of the Balkan cocaine cartel. The attack took place on August 7, 2025, at a hotel complex in Przno near Budva.
The gunman had been staying at the hotel as an ordinary guest for days. He opened fire by the pool and, according to media reports, slipped at the decisive moment. Ljubisa survived, and some outlets report that he sustained light head injuries. The attacker fled and an international warrant followed.
The arrest ties together two things that until now sat apart: a failed hit on the coast last summer and a weapons store assembled for something still to come.
A timeline coming together
The operation follows months of intelligence work aimed at organized crime groups, and it sits alongside other moves by Montenegrin authorities we have covered in recent weeks: the verdict against Radoje Zvicer in Podgorica, the extradition of Marko Kilibarda to Montenegro and the killing in Bar.
All of it will be measured in final convictions rather than in rifles laid out on a floor. For now there are four suspects, and guilt is a matter for the court.
