Former Smederevo Mayor Umicevic Arrested Over Toxic Waste
The former Democratic Party mayor of Smederevo was arrested on suspicion of storing hazardous waste for years on his company's lot in the village of Vodanj.
Predrag Umicevic (63), mayor of Smederevo from 2008 to 2012 on the Democratic Party ticket, was arrested on September 23 on suspicion of storing a large quantity of hazardous waste on the lot of his company in the village of Vodanj, near Smederevo. The operation was carried out by the Environmental Crime Unit of the Smederevo Police Department, in cooperation with the Smederevo Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office.
According to a statement from the Interior Ministry dated September 23, police officers, together with inspectors from the Republic Environmental Protection Inspectorate, the Republic Water Inspectorate, the Republic Agricultural Inspectorate and the Republic Forestry Inspectorate, inspected the company where Umicevic is the responsible officer, and found around 200 tons of hazardous powdered metal waste on the company’s lot. The waste was examined and classified as hazardous by the Mining and Metallurgy Institute Bor.
The Interior Ministry (MUP) said in its statement:
“The hazardous waste is suspected to have been stored from 2024 until August of this year, even though the company is registered only for the treatment and storage of non-hazardous waste.”
Umicevic was held for up to 48 hours on the prosecutor’s order, after which he was brought before the competent prosecutor along with a criminal complaint. He is suspected of the criminal offense of importing hazardous substances into Serbia and of the unlawful processing, disposal and storage of hazardous substances. According to unofficial reports from the outlet Novosti, he denied the charges during questioning.
Sources disagree both on the amount of waste and on the course of the case. Kurir and the outlet Podunavlje.info report around 200 tons of material found, while Informer cites “several dozen tons.” Kurir and Informer also claim Umicevic buried the waste on his own plot of land, while the Interior Ministry’s statement and Novosti describe waste that was stored on the company’s lot. Accounts also diverge on the detention request: according to Kurir and Informer, prosecutors asked the court for pretrial detention of up to 30 days over concerns he could influence witnesses, while Informer reports that as of the afternoon of September 23, the court had not yet ruled on the matter.
Umicevic served as mayor of Smederevo from 2008 to 2012, elected on the Democratic Party ticket. Earlier, from 2007 to 2008, he was also a member of Serbia’s National Assembly, a seat he resigned from under the Law on the Anti-Corruption Agency, since he was holding both the parliamentary and mayoral posts at the same time. After leaving public office, he built a private business in the metalworking and construction sectors, which includes the company on whose lot the waste was found.
The court in Smederevo has yet to rule on the prosecution’s request for pretrial detention.
