Serbian govt leaking information to organized crime – president Nikolic warns

Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic announced that information on police operations concerned with drug trafficking is being leaked to criminals from the highest echelons of government, the local media reported, Jan. 21.

“It is obvious that information is leaking and that someone is notifying drug lords in advance about police actions, and this gives them enough time to remove evidence of involvement in the organization of drug trafficking activities,” Nikolic told the media, according to Serbian press wire Tanjug.

The president warned that information is leaking from Interior Ministry (MUP) and the Criminal Police Department (UKP). Nikolic cited recent operations, which saw police come up empty-handed despite accurate intel that should have led to the apprehension of several highly placed criminals.

Serbia came last out of the CEE countries in terms of economic freedom, in a recent survey carried out by think-tank, The Heritage Foundation. According to The Heritage Foundation, the Serbian government is currently ill equipped to deal with corruption, which is one of the country’s largest barriers in the attainment of economic freedom.