Since no one showed up at the previously agreed time, policeman Kovacevic and two other persons from the escort drove back to the police station in Berkovici to make a phone call; in the meantime a Mercedes with Herceg-Bosna plates (first letter illegible, second letter G, then -741-TS) for which they were waiting showed up at the road house. Between 9:50 p.m. and 10:15 p.m. the [Srpska] number plates on the truck were replaced by the [Federation] plates, the truck was taken over by a driver who had arrived in the Mercedes and both vehicles crossed the border [between Srpska and the Federation] at Centrala (picnic spot on the Bregava river, upstream from Stolac).
We don't know what the policemen Kovacevic and Markovic thought about this task. All we know is that the following day they submitted a detailed report about it to their superiors.
GRUMBLING: Also, we don't know what the police chief in Trebinje, Miro Prelo thought about it. However, we do know that he wasn't present at a very important meeting which took place in the Trebinje police station at 1 p.m. on October 22 1996; all other leading Police officials were present at the meeting. The report number 17-01-548/96 was sent from that meeting to the president of Srpska, president of the government of Srpska, government ministers and the commander of the anti-terrorist police unit. The report was signed by an official in the police station Trebinje, police colonel Miroslav Duka.
The report lists "cases in which cigarettes were imported from FRY and transported through Srpska for sale in the Muslim-Croatian Federation... The security for cargos is provided by the Police. The cargos are not checked, although the police have orders to thoroughly follow their duties in this regard." The report adds that "on several occasions, it was demanded from policemen to provide escort and security for truck convoys which pass through Srpska at night; during transport the police had to co-operate with criminals."
The authors of the report complain that "such behavior puts the local police in a very unpleasant position... Reactions of the citizens have become very serious (a recent protest by the Srpska war veterans organization has been noted)". On the other hand the Trebinje police officials complain that they have "been threatened with murder if they attempt to do anything regarding the aforementioned problem". They further complain that the leadership organizes these deals while the local personnel are accused of corruption and that this has "direct influence on their daily duties". The report concludes that such deals "discredit the Police and lead to the loss of trust in and honor of certain Police officials and ordinary policemen."
It is not known what other addressees did with the report (although we can guess); However, we do know that the Republic of Srpska president, Biljana Plavsic demanded an explanation from the general major Milenko Karisik, the chief of Srpska Police. General Karisik responded on October 25 1996 with the document number RJB 537/96 in which he said that he knew nothing about "cases of trade with Muslim-Croat Federation under the protection of the Police", nor was he aware that the Police was involved in such type of work. Although he personally "[didn't] approve and [did] condemn" such practice, Karisik used the occasion to complain that the Minister of Interior Dragan Kijac "appoints local police officials without my knowledge and without consultation with me", which, according to Karisik, endangers the chain of command...
Let us conclude this case study at the same place we started, in Trebinje: on January 20 1997, the Trebinje Police Station received an order number k/p-1-28/97 from the office of the Minister of Internal Affairs for the station chief personally. The order demanded that the police "allow re-export of the cigarettes by the company 'Selekt-Imex' to the Muslim-Croat Federation". The minister also ordered that the cigarettes which had been confiscated in Nevesinje be returned to "Selekt-Imex". The message was signed by minister Dragan Kijac.
"SELEKT-CENTREX": There, we reach the essence of the first big problem for the president of the Republic of Srpska, Ms. Biljana Plavsic. Actually, that problem is as old as the Republic of Srpska and to a certain extent Ms. Plavsic must be pretending not to have been aware of it before, since it has been "common knowledge" for more than five years. Briefly, the Republic of Srpska does not produce anything apart from a little bit of wood (if there is anything left...) and food products. The only source of foreign currency is in the pockets of the population; the economy is based on "pouring from empty to hollow" (as in FR Yugoslavia). In such circumstances, by the nature of things, a monopoly in the trade with the most profitable goods becomes a political priority of the state (as in FRY). Naturally, cigarettes and alcohol drinks are the mass consumption goods with largest profit margins. It makes sense that that type of trade is not "left to chance", as comrades communists used to say, but is put under the control of the [secret] Service [and Police]. That's how it starts: first shady deals with oil and other strategic raw materials, than illegal deals with humanitarian aid, and finally, cigarettes, beer, and alcohol drinks. In all of that, the illegal part is essential, and it was unavoidable, necessary and predictable, having in mind human resources policy in the Republic of Srpska: the greatest "patriots" ended up on the most important positions; and it is well known who the greatest "patriots" were; that could easily be spotted during the mutiny "September '93" in Banja luka [Bosnian Serb units in Banja Luka rebelled against war profiteering of Serb politicians], as can be seen today. Namely, anyone capable of robbing, expelling and killing his neighbor only because the neighbor is of different nationality, is capable of doing anything else. Once they ran out of Muslims and Croats for plunder, they started working on Serbs. Thieves are a principled lot; they do not suffer from prejudice regarding ethnicity; that is an old truth which the Republic of Srpska is discovering, slowly but surely. Thus, Mihajlo Bajic, chief of police in Rogatica [in eastern Bosnia] in his "Report about illegal actions..." sent to Biljana Plavsic and Aleksa Buha on September 25 1996 accuses "fighters for Serbdom", who are "the real threat for the people in this area who do not expect protection from the legal police. Namely, top officials in the Secret Service and police, supposedly with the approval from the presidency [i.e. from Momcilo Krajisnik], have organized illegal trade with the enemy and are selling large amounts of cigarettes and other goods". Bajic also mentions "eight trucks full of cigarettes" which had arrived from Montenegro and which the policemen from the police station Kula had sold in Sarajevo within the last month"; three trucks with cigarettes from Montenegro to Sarajevo-Kula (15 tons - DM 1.5 million) were escorted by the Police and the transport was organized by the minister Kijac and Secret Service chief Dragisa Mihic; another truck for Vrace (September 18 1996); a drunken party thrown by minister Kijac on September 14 1996 at the pub "Venus" in Lukavica, where Kijac drank with "criminals who smuggle cigarettes into Sarajevo and on that occasion received as a present a new Volkswagen Golf which had been stolen in FRY". Mihajlo Bajic points out the co-operation between the Police, Special Forces of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and criminals which have been given official police identification cards: "A number of these 'fighters', actually criminals, who are not employed by the police, even escorted and guarded the president of the state, Biljana Plavsic, during the pre-election rally in Serb Dobrinja [suburb of Sarajevo]. Bajic accuses such "fighters" of "[murdering] those who dare oppose them".
The main legal front for these operations are two companies: "Centrex" (from Bijeljina) and "Selekt-imex" (from Banjaluka). According to our sources "Centrex" has been operating since 1994 and is fully controlled by the Ministry of Internal Affairs (director general is Ljubo Vasilic). Essentially, nothing can be imported into or exported from the Republic of Srpska if "Centrex" doesn't receive at least 10 percent provision. "Selekt-imex" was founded recently once "Centrex" became too discredited. Let us cite the report about "Selekt-Imex" sent to Ms. Biljana Plavsic at her request by the police official Dragisa Mihic on January 11 1997 (number 10-20/96): "The company is unusual because its profit is used for those purposes which at a particular moment are the most essential for the state. At the founding of the company, the initial agreement was that the profits should be distributed in the following way: 1/3 for the election campaign, 1/3 for social programs and 1/3 for the Ministry of Internal Affairs, for special needs". However, in practice, the profits were usually divided "fifty-fifty" between the [ruling] Serb Democratic Party (SDS) and the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP)...
Mihic's report is very interesting: he mentions cigarettes (5 tons) which had arrived from Cyprus to Mahovljani (Banja Luka's airport) during April 1996 (profit margin 100 percent); then from Montenegro (companies "Adrijatik" from Herceg Novi and Agency MTT from Podgorica); during Summer and Fall 1996 "Selekt-imex" imported all together 123,388 tons of cigarettes; during the same period "Centrex" imported 240 tons of cigarettes from Serbia, through border crossing Raca. Western brands ("Marlboro", "Lucky Strike", "Bond", "LM", "Winston" etc.) originate from Montenegro, airport Podgorica; Majority of imports from Serbia are Macedonian "Partner" and Serbian "Lord" and "Vek". Mihic mentions that "Centrex" has "turned over" (probably to the State Security Service) DM 184,009. We leave it to the experts to calculate whether that sum is realistic taking into account the size of deliveries, "costs" of transport and other expenses (allegedly the policemen from the Special Brigade based in Pale were paid DM 1000 each for protection and escort of larger deliveries).
PALS: The Republic of Srpska borders Croatia, Herceg-Bosna, Republic of Bosnia-Hercegovina, Serbia and Montenegro. In practice that means that there is a number of locations for quiet, unrestricted smuggling of cigarettes, coffee, alcohol drinks and beer (Sremska Raca, Pavlovica cuprija, Zvornik, Foca, Visegrad, Jazina, Debeli Brijeg, Kula, Lukavica, Doljani, Berkovici, Jajce, Brcko and others). Cigarettes from the beginning of this article ended up in east Mostar [Muslim controlled] (Safet Orucevic, the mayor, was present at the meetings regarding that topic which took place in East Hercegovina [Serb controlled]), and (most of the transport) in Herceg-Bosna and Croatia. Cigarettes which in transports organized by "Centrex" and/or "Selekt-imex" pass through Pale and Lukavac-Kula end up in Sarajevo and Kiseljak; some of those which pass through the [Brcko] Corridor are sold in Banja Luka, while the majority continue to Bosnia-Hercegovina and Croatia through Jajce. On average, profit margin is 100%; hence, if during only two months 360 tons of cigarettes passed through Srpska (as was officially admitted by Dragisa Mihic to Biljana Plavsic) how much is that per one year?
Based on the partial inspection of the European Union lists of goods in transit, the Republic of Srpska mostly imports coffee, alcohol drinks, beer and fruit juices from Herceg-Bosna (mostly Ljubuski) and Croatia (mostly Split and Zagreb).
Finally, it remains to be asked whether all this could go on unchecked without direct co-operation of the Federal [Yugoslav] Customs Service and the local [Srpska] Service? Knowing the tobacco trails in this country and who and how controls them, it must be concluded that that is very unlikely... There we reach the second big problem for Biljana Plavsic: the State Security Service of all Serb Lands. Namely, if Kijac and Mihic are doing what they are doing the way they are doing, their Serb brothers from the other side of the border must be involved as well; otherwise they couldn't do it, or the profit margins would have been much lower. We'd like to remind the reader that Ms. Plavsic tried before the current clash with Pale to fashion the Brigade for Anti-terrorist Actions into her own security service and police. The reader should recall that Milan Babic in Knin and Radovan Karadzic in Bijeljina have made the same mistake in the past. The State Security Service of the former/previous Republic of Serb Krajina was once dissolved and several times reorganized until it was put under total control by comrade F-1 (secret code name in the field). Karadzic's attempts to form his own secret service, code name "Tajfun", were also immediately thwarted. The message is that All Serbs, wherever they may live, no matter how many states they have, have only one Service; and without the knowledge of that Service no one is going to drive a truck full of cigarettes from one to the other side of Serbdom. Ms. Plavsic has no idea what she's gotten herself into.