Balkan criminal Kotoranin Jovan Vukotić , who is thought to be the leader of the “scarecrow” clan, was arrested in Turkey on Monday and sent to Serbia on foot of an international arrest warrant filed by Greece where he is wanted on suspicion of drug trafficking among other serious crimes, Montenegrin police have said in a statement.
According to the Portalanalitika website Vukotić was sent to Serbia, rather than Greece, because he has dual Montenegrin and Serbian nationality.
Vukotić is the leader of an organised criminal group wanted by the Greek authorities for the smuggling of 136 kilograms of cocaine, writes Vijesti.
In addition to the smuggling of large quantities of narcotics, the “Scarecrows” are also linked to other serious crimes including murder and the illegal possession of weapons.
Vukotić is also accused of using forged documents and fake identification during a stay in a number of EU countries.
Montenegrin authorities recently issued an international arrest warrant for Jovan’s brother, Igor Vukotic, who is suspected of being behind several crimes. It is alleged that, along with Ranko Radulovic, he formed a criminal group aimed at assassinating police officers and other law enforcement officials.
According to the findings of the investigation, special prosecutor Milivoje Katnić was also an assassination target of the fifteen-member group.
Vukotić’s brothers have been attacked several times in the Montengrin city of Kotor and the Serbian capital Belgrade as part of a cross-border gang war being waged in the two Balkan countries, writes CDM. In 2008, several shots were fired from an automatic weapon at Jovan’s BMW as he drove along the coast road in Dobrota near the port city of Kotor. In another attack in August 2013, an explosive device was thrown at the home of Vukotic’s father Veska, damaging several parked cars but causing no injuries.
The Scarecrow group is known for its war with the Caucasus clan, in which several people have been killed to date in Montenegro and Serbia.
