MONTENEGRIN COURT ISSUES FINAL RULING: Appeal rejected, Radoje Zvicer sentenced to 16 years in prison!

The Court of Appeals of Montenegro has upheld the verdict of the Special Department of the Higher Court in Podgorica, which convicted Radoje Zvicer and four other defendants for forming a criminal organization and trafficking cocaine.

The Court of Appeals announced that the appeals filed by the defense attorneys and the Special State Prosecutor’s Office were rejected as unfounded.

Zvicer, as the organizer of the criminal group, was sentenced by a final ruling to a unified prison term of 16 years. Milan Vujotić and Dragan Knežević were each sentenced to 11 years in prison, while Slobodan Kašćelan and Igor Božović were each sentenced to 13 years in prison.

“The first-instance judgment does not contain substantial violations of criminal procedure provisions, and the first-instance court correctly established the decisive facts on which it based its conclusions regarding the existence of criminal offenses and the guilt of the defendants,” the Court of Appeals stated in its ruling.

The court found that it was proven during the proceedings that Zvicer organized the criminal group in the second half of 2020 for the purpose of international cocaine trafficking.

According to the verdict, the organization’s activities were planned for an unlimited period of time and on an international level, with strict internal control and discipline among its members.

The Court of Appeals stated that Zvicer assigned tasks to all members of the organization, organized the procurement of cocaine in Ecuador and other South American countries, its maritime transport to the Netherlands and other European countries, as well as financing the purchase of drugs and transportation costs.

The verdict also states that he determined the financial contributions of the organization’s members and the distribution of profits from drug sales.

The remaining defendants, according to the established facts, were tasked with securing money for cocaine purchases, finding transportation means and individuals to transfer funds, and carrying out other duties as ordered by the organizer.

“Based on all the evidence presented, it was correctly established that this criminal organization was formed with the clear objective of committing an indefinite number of criminal offenses involving the unauthorized production, possession, and distribution of narcotic drugs,” the Court of Appeals stated.

The institution emphasized that this is the first criminal proceeding against Radoje Zvicer’s criminal organization to be concluded with a final verdict.

The ruling of the Court of Appeals, case No. Kž-S 7/26, will be published on the court’s website.