Serbia police and BIA arrest 19, seize 2.5 kg of drugs
Searches were carried out on October 14 at more than 70 locations in nine cities. Police also seized about 40,000 euros and 39 phones, and charges go to 13 prosecutor's offices.
The Interior Ministry (MUP) and the Security Information Agency (BIA) said that 19 people were detained in an operation carried out on October 14, 2026. Searches took place at more than 70 locations in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Pozarevac, Loznica, Smederevo, Kraljevo, Uzice, Prokuplje and Sabac. According to the statement, the operation is still under way in several places across Serbia.
Three people who were subject to arrest warrants and manhunts were also arrested during the operation. The sources do not say whether they are counted in the total of 19.
Who took part in the operation?
The operation was carried out by members of the Criminal Police Directorate: the services for combating organized crime, drugs, crime suppression, criminal intelligence work and the fight against corruption. They were joined by the Technical Directorate, the Belgrade Police Directorate, the Special Anti-Terrorist Unit (SAJ), the Gendarmerie, the unit for the protection of certain persons and facilities, and BIA.
It was conducted in cooperation with the three Belgrade basic public prosecutor’s offices (First, Second and Third) and ten more basic prosecutor’s offices: in Lazarevac, Obrenovac, Mladenovac, Stara Pazova, Smederevo, Prokuplje, Uzice, Kraljevo, Sabac and Novi Sad.
What was seized?
Police say they found and temporarily seized:
- about 2.5 kilograms of a substance suspected to be cocaine, along with marijuana, LSD, amphetamine and banned doping substances
- six precision scales and one drug-packing machine
- seven firearms: four pistols, one automatic pistol and two revolvers, plus a replica pistol, a crossbow, a flare gun with ammunition, several pieces of old trophy weapons and ammunition of various calibers
- a bulletproof vest, brass knuckles and two telescopic batons
- about 40,000 euros and about 700,000 dinars, four passenger vehicles and one scooter
- 39 mobile phones, seven of them encrypted, one laptop and several luxury watches
Police also found several notebooks with personal notes about named individuals. They say the notebooks relate to records of drug sales.
What are the suspects accused of?
The grounds for suspicion cover illegal production, possession, carrying and trade in weapons and explosives, unauthorized production and sale of narcotics, and forgery of a document. All those arrested will be brought before the competent public prosecutor’s offices along with criminal complaints. The names, initials and ages of the suspects have not been released.
This is a separate operation from the one we reported on earlier, in which seven suspects were arrested over the murders of Stokovic and Bakic. Here, the suspicion concerns drugs, weapons and document forgery.
What is the link to the “Vracarci” group?
Alo, UNA and Mondo describe the operation as a continuation of the action against the “Vracarci” group. Euronews, whose report follows the police statement, does not use that label, so for now the link rests on those outlets’ interpretation, not on a verifiable fact about those arrested.
The background is older. In November 2022, police arrested 17 members of the group after searches at more than 50 locations. An indictment from the Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime charges 38 members of the group with three aggravated murders and five attempted aggravated murders. It names Nikola Vusovic as the organizer, who according to the indictment has been on the run the whole time, along with ten of his associates.
All suspects are presumed innocent until guilt is established by a final court ruling.
