A group of cigarette smugglers from Montenegro, some affiliated with a police drug cartel, came under investigation in Italy in early February 2020. Their truck was confiscated, and the driver fell unconscious during the arrest, leading to his hospitalization while the rest of the crew scrambled to devise a plan for their escape.

On February 20, 2020, one of the tobacco smuggling organizers communicated this to a resident of Cetinje. Božidar Jabučanin sent a message via the encrypted Sky app, using the pin D072C7 and the aliases Black Wolf and Berlusconi.

That day, he forwarded correspondence to Jabučanin from various associates involved in smuggling, mainly from an individual operating under the nickname Papii.

After discussing the decline in cigarette availability in Italy, Papii sent this alarming message to Jabučanin:

“Chaos. Damn it. My best guy will deal with this. I’ll kill him, and then myself, as soon as he gets out. I’ve made peace with that. We need no one for anything. At least I’ll leave this as a man…”

Jabučanin noted that the driver, referred to as Milo, had a severe lung issue and seemingly “lost consciousness and collapsed…”

From the exchanges with Papii, it became clear that Lupo Nero was anxious due to the driver’s arrest, expressing that “the situation is tense now…”

“They’re relocating the office, going insane, and moving a lot of capital out of the company. I can’t say more; they are dangerous about it,” he wrote.

“We just need to get the stamp first and pay the fine,” Papii replied, noting that “there’s no chain,” and mentioning that it’s easier if he claims it was loaded in Croatia to avoid further investigation.

“You understand, there isn’t a chain for them, but there is for us. My guy informed me how it works,” Lupo Nero continued, before adding:

“It’s going to be like this, trust me, but this is what they claim now; they’re monitoring people and searching for a chain. It’s not looking good… I feel for him; maybe it’d be best if he escaped the hospital and got moved somewhere else. I can’t go there…,” wrote Lupo Nero after learning about a spot found on the driver’s lungs.

They agreed to send a lawyer, and soon after, Papii inquired if the lawyer had consulted with the doctor regarding their arrested associate.

In response, Lupo Nero informed:

“They are least concerned about the driver. Let’s see. What they want to know is the destination, where they were headed… They’re raiding everywhere; they only write about cigars, the Guarda Finanza blocked everything here.”

Their dialogue turned towards erasing traces, leading Papii to concur that removing everything would be wiser. His interlocutor warned of a significant risk in “waiting for the intruder to show up.”

“We’re transporting 45 vehicles from that company. You handled it, Jade. Don’t ask me anything. I’m currently in Naples; there’s also a considerable fuss over cigars here…”

I SPOKE TO ZDRAVKO

By early May 2020, Lupo Nero forwarded Jabučanin correspondence involving a certain Viktor, which was exchanged on Skye between people using the nicknames Cacciatore and TRUUCK-1.

These individuals mentioned a certain Zdravko, who was part of the operation, and Lupo Nero sought Jabučanin’s contact for Slobodan Kašćelan so that Zdravko could connect with him…

“I transferred everything to Napoli two days ago, brother. There’s no price; I said they’re just seeking money. I should manage to avoid these 10 days up there. So that Reggina doesn’t exist,” Cacciatore wrote.

“Okay, great brother; I spoke to a friend, and he wanted me to do a calculation so we know our position. Although it’s irrelevant, just relax, and when we meet, we’ll take it easy,” replied Truuck-1.

The interlocutor inquired about who the comrade was, confirming it was Zdravko.

“He settled things with me long ago. He paid with the G-Class. I have no further contact with him. Best of luck on his journey. But I prefer not to know anything about him, brother,” Cacciatore shared.

He then received a message stating that Zdravko said he “no longer wants to continue with this,” and the other person remarked he sensed something was off but didn’t elaborate.

“He never contributed much, brother, but it doesn’t matter. I won’t speak ill of him; I’m ready to move forward, but you can send me how much you owe me, so I have it with me. When this sells, I’ll send it to you as well…”

Truuck-1 noted that the arrangement with Zdravko was merely a trial, assuring that everything would be fine, and they could easily settle matters upon meeting.

“Please send me the difference you owed me this evening. We have the code Djok €60,000, just so you know. If you’re driving somewhere, don’t pay anything. I gave him the car based on the last transport… I handed him a Porsche Macan and €15,000, plus €2,800 on the side,” he wrote.

The interlocutor responded that Đoko had vanished since then, but Cacciatore assured he would locate him…

“No problem, brother, we’ll find him. Just send me what you owe me when you can, and we will be good. Let’s get our money back and move on… And I won’t say anything negative about this guy. For me, he’s dead. He settled his obligations and received the €40,000 he invested in the entire deal. He never cared about this business. I guarantee that with my life. So, we don’t need to discuss him further,” Cacciatore explained.

“I don’t want to involve myself and I don’t have more to say, but I truly feel sorry,” replied TRUUCK-1.

D072C7 forwarded the exchange to Jabučanin, labeling it as Viktor…

IN BG 1,200 CARTONS

The group surrounding Jabučanin also engaged in smuggling cigarettes from Serbia, with tobacco products stored and resold in Ruma, as their correspondence indicates.

Lupo Nero, in a conversation with an individual using the nickname Puigdemont, mentioned, “Strahinja also went to BG to discuss transportation…”.

“I sent Slađ to collect €15,000 in Bologna this evening, to give to the driver tomorrow during unloading; today I provided this guy with a new Porsche Macan and €60,000 to subtract from the transport cost. We’ll load that up swiftly,” he wrote…

The person he communicated with indicated that he would ensure it’s stored in Ruma…

“We need to secure this somewhere. See you; call when you arrive. We have this in BG on Sunday,” Lupo Nero advised, and Puigdemont assured him he’d handle it the next day…

“We need to find a secure spot for it, and tomorrow we’ll unload this Bond truck in Parma. Brother, next week we have 1,200 cartons of Reggina in BG. See if there are any transport options from Serbia,” Lupo Nero dispatched.

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