The Higher Court in Podgorica has granted a bail of 500,000 euros for Srđan Jokić, who is accused by the Special State Prosecutor’s Office of being part of Saša Pekić’s criminal organization. This organization is alleged to have caused a loss of 17.5 million euros to the state through cigarette smuggling, as reported by “Vijesti” from various judicial sources.

Following the court’s bail approval, Jokić was released from detention, where he had been held since December 27, 2024. This arrest occurred during an operation executed by the Special Police Department under the orders of the SDT, targeting nine individuals believed to be key players in the smuggling network.

Ivana Vukmirović, an independent advisor at the Higher Court in Podgorica, informed Vijesti that the court accepted the appeal from Jokić’s defense attorney, thereby overturning the earlier ruling made by the investigating judge.

“The defense attorney’s request for Jokić’s release was granted with bail set at 557,445.00 euros, secured by a mortgage on the specified real estate,” she stated.

Upon finalizing the decision, and once the mortgage is officially recorded, Jokić will be released.

At the end of June, the SDT indicted Saša Pekić and others—including Srđan Jokić, Goran Janketić, Dragan Backović, Predrag Mijušković, Predrag Vučurović, Nikola Glomazić, and brothers Petar and Mirko Cicmil—on charges of forming a criminal organization and engaging in extensive smuggling activities.

The prosecution sought to extend the detention along with the indictment, but shortly after, the Higher Court granted bail to Jokić.

Both Backović and Jokić face additional charges of money laundering, and police officers Backović, Vučurović, and Mijušković are also accused of ongoing abuse of their official positions.

Following the indictment, the SDT indicated that it addressed the operations of a criminal group led by Pekić, including Jokić, Janketić, and Backović, as well as another group involving the Cicmil brothers, with ties to Vučurović, Mijušković, and Glomazić.

Investigators have confirmed that these two organizations have been collaborating for years.

“The Pekić-led criminal group purchased untaxed cigarettes and sold them to the Cicmil and Backović group, who then distributed the products to various undisclosed buyers in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Additionally, Backović, Vučurović, and Mijušković, using their positions in the Police Administration of Montenegro, facilitated smuggling and laundering of illegal profits from the sale of these smuggled cigarettes,” the report indicated.

The evidence gathered in the investigation suggests that these organizations smuggled at least 22,539 packages of untaxed cigarettes between late 2019 and March 2021, resulting in a tax and duty loss of at least 17,551,143 euros to the Montenegrin treasury.

In response, the SDT launched a financial investigation into the criminal organization’s members and temporarily blocked numerous properties, aiming to permanently confiscate assets acquired through illegal means.

Vukmirović reiterated that the breach of the court’s initial ruling was corrected, highlighting that the mortgage on the relevant real estate must be established in favor of the state before Jokić’s release can proceed.

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