“Jovanjica” drug network trial: Alleged links to Serbia’s leadership, BIA still withholds classified information

The “Jovanjica” case represents one of the most significant organized crime proceedings in Serbia

Police records on searches of the defendants’ homes, land lease agreements, photographs of plants, and other prosecution evidence were presented today at the trial of Predrag Koluvija, who is accused of organizing a criminal group at “Jovanjica” that cultivated more than one and a half tons of marijuana.

The defendant and agent of the Security Intelligence Agency (BIA), Aleksandar Tošić, once again did not present his defense because the agency has still not responded to court requests to declassify part of the information related to the “Jovanjica” case.

Dozens of documents collected by the prosecution during the investigation against Koluvija and other defendants were shown today in the courtroom of the Special Court. Among other items, land lease contracts signed by Koluvija for his company “Jovanjica” were presented, as well as records of searches of the defendants’ houses and apartments, police reports analyzing data from their mobile phones, and expert reports on the plants found on the estate.

Defense lawyers requested that the court exclude documentation related to the forensic examination of mobile phones from the evidence, arguing that the prosecution did not have a court order for it. However, the judges rejected this proposal.

“The explanation will be brief and straightforward. We considered the statements of the defense, the prosecution, and the Court of Appeals, and we believe that the phone examination could have been carried out in either way. All examinations were conducted lawfully… Unlike other matters in this proceeding, this was done legally,” said presiding judge Zoran Ganić.

This forensic analysis of mobile phone content is important because the prosecution draws a significant amount of evidence from it, claiming that Koluvija and the other defendants had installed a special secure communication application called “Razgovor,” through which they communicated.

According to the indictment, Koluvija was confident that the police and prosecution would not discover the application and allegedly voluntarily handed over his phone to the police and provided them with the password. Today in court, he denied this claim.

“The prosecutor claims that I gave the password. That is absolutely untrue,” Koluvija said in the courtroom.

Judge Ganić stated that, even after two formal requests sent to the Security Intelligence Agency, no response has been received regarding the declassification of documents requested by the accused BIA member Aleksandar Tošić, which would allow him to present his defense and testify in court. At one of the previous hearings, Tošić denied guilt and stated that everything he did was within his capacity as an agency member. If the BIA submits the documents and lifts the secrecy classification on part of the information, Tošić will be able to present his defense at the next hearing.

Something quite unusual occurred during today’s hearing. Judge Ganić stated that the lawyers of Branislav Radosavljević, a police officer accused of providing Koluvija with special police license plates, had withdrawn their power of attorney two months earlier, which left Radosavljević shocked.

“I didn’t know about this; I’m taken aback,” Radosavljević said, after which the court temporarily separated the proceedings against him until he appoints new counsel.

The trial will continue in mid-May.

The “Jovanjica” case represents one of the most significant organized crime proceedings in Serbia.

The main defendant, Koluvija, was arrested more than six years ago after police claimed to have found and seized 1.6 tons of marijuana at the “Jovanjica” estate. The indictment against him was filed in 2020, and he subsequently went on trial for organizing marijuana cultivation on land owned by his company.

At the end of 2020, the prosecution filed a second indictment. In addition to Koluvija, members of the BIA, the Military Intelligence Agency (VOA), and the police were also charged, with prosecutors alleging that, among other things, they provided security for the estate and supplied Koluvija with confidential information. The proceedings against Koluvija and the security officials are publicly known as “Jovanjica 2.”

While in the first case, “Jovanjica 1,” the defendants have presented their defenses, some evidence has been presented, and some witnesses have been heard, the trial for “Jovanjica 2” was delayed for years.

The cases were finally merged in 2024. However, to this day, the defendants from “Jovanjica 2” have not presented their defense.

Koluvija spent two years in detention, after which he was first placed under house arrest and later released. During that time, he received support from figures within the government, including Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and the current Speaker of Parliament, Ana Brnabić, who attempted to downplay the case.

This was not the first time politicians were linked to the case. KRIK reported that various state officials had visited Koluvija’s estate, including former minister Aleksandar Vulin and Zoran Babić, the former director of “Corridors of Serbia.”

On the other hand, the police officers who uncovered “Jovanjica” faced pressure over the years from the state leadership and, as they testified in court, from former BIA director Bratislav Gašić. They stated in court that in the “Jovanjica” case they had “found the state in crime” and that their intention had been to arrest Gašić.

Two years ago, media in Serbia revealed that even before the “Jovanjica” case, the prosecution had suspected Koluvija of organizing marijuana cultivation in 2012, he was suspected of leading a group that grew marijuana in a laboratory hidden in the basements of three houses in Karaburma. At that time, he was neither arrested nor prosecuted.