Novi Sad Arrests: Attack Plot Tied to 3,000 Euro Drug Debt

The Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Novi Sad (VJT) announced on September 23 that M. P., 34, is suspected of recruiting N. E., 26, to commit a criminal offense and of supplying him with a firearm. The prosecutor’s office did not specify which offense was involved in its statement.

Also on September 23, acting on the prosecutor’s order, police arrested M. P. and M. V., 19. Both men were held for up to 48 hours pending questioning before the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Novi Sad.

N. E. had entered the case a day earlier. He is suspected of illegal possession of weapons, and the prosecutor’s office asked the Higher Court in Novi Sad to order his detention. On September 22, a judge ordered him held for up to 30 days, citing the risk that he could repeat the offense in the near future.

According to the prosecutor’s office, M. P. supplied drugs during 2024 to N. E. and to another person, identified as N. K., for resale. Investigators suspect that in September this year, through payments and other benefits, M. P. recruited N. E. to commit a separate criminal offense and, working through M. V., supplied him with a firearm.

M. P. is suspected of unauthorized production and trafficking of drugs, human trafficking, procuring weapons and means for committing a criminal offense, and obstructing an official person. M. V. is suspected of illegal production, possession, carrying and trafficking of weapons.

Media outlets, citing details from the investigation reported by B92, have described elements the prosecutor’s office did not confirm in its statement. According to that account, N. E. was supposed to shoot a Novi Sad resident in exchange for having a 3,000 euro drug debt written off, plus an additional cash payment. Per these findings, the recruitment and pressure on N. E. ran from July through September 21. A rented apartment was secured to prepare the attack, and a pistol and ammunition were obtained.

The two accounts diverge on one point. The prosecutor’s office says M. P. supplied the weapon to N. E. through M. V. The police version, as reported by B92, says the opposite: that N. E., acting on M. P.’s orders, handed the weapon and ammunition to M. V.

Police, according to available information, intervened during the preparation phase, before the attack could be carried out. A search of the apartment used by N. E. turned up illegal weapons, ammunition and a large quantity of marijuana.

The same sources suspect M. P. and N. E. of jointly producing and selling amphetamines from 2022 to 2024, with M. P. supplying the drugs and N. E. responsible for weighing, packaging and selling them. According to this account, the roughly 3,000 euro debt originated from that business.

The Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Novi Sad said the investigation will be expanded to cover M. P. and M. V., and that all evidentiary steps needed to reach a lawful decision will be carried out.