Accusations seen as "strike to heart of police"

Accusations seen as "strike to heart of police"

BELGRADE -- "A strike to the heart of the criminal police" is how Mile Novaković has described the accusations made during his trial by accused crime boss Darko Šarić.

Novaković was the head of the Serbian police Criminal Investigations Administration (UKP) during Operation Saber, launched in 2003 in the wake of the assassination of Zoran Đinđić.

That high ranking police position is today occupied by Rodoljub Milić, whom Šarić accused of fabricating the case against him in order to present him as "the leader of some new Zemun Clan."

Previously during the trial, where Šarić stands accused of smuggling tons of cocaine from South America to Europe, he referred to "a corrupt police general" as "Papaja" ("Papaya"), but would not reveal his name.

In a rambling statement before the Special Court on Monday, Šarić also spoke about Milović's "collaborating witness friend," referring to this person as "Mango" and claiming that he had "created the Zemun Clan."

"A similar thing happened as with the testimony of Milorad Ulemek Legija during the trial for the murder of Zoran Đinđić. The testimony was anticipated for days and what Legija might say, only to see his statements turn into a disaster. Similarly, now Šarić is conducting his defense in not really a smart way. Of course he blames the most the one who organized his arrest and that of his group," believes Novaković, who is also the author of several books about the Zemun Clan.

In his opinion, Šarić's testimony reflects "a complex situation" in terms of the clan's "legacy."

In his statement for the daily Danas Novaković was, however, explicit in his...