Montenegro Police Raid Nets 50 Foreigners, ‘Hundreds’ of Digital Devices, and Cash

The special state prosecutor’s offices in Podgorica, Montenegro. Photo: EPA/BORIS PEJOVIC Montenegrin police said on Tuesday they were checking on more than 50 foreign nationals, most of them Ukrainian citizens, who they found when raiding a large house in the Mareza area of Podgorica. Police also said they seized hundreds of digital devices, “sophisticated equipment” and a large amount of cash. “Police officers, based on previously undertaken proactive activities, located and identified the facility – a large house in Mareza, Podgorica – after which they entered the building in accordance with the law,” a Police Directorate statement said. According to police, they found more than 50 foreign nationals inside the house and carried out a search of the premises, documenting equipment and other material relevant to the investigation. “During the activities, several hundred digital devices and other elements of sophisticated equipment were found, and their quantity and scale were such that, for adequate relocation, they had to be transported by a cargo motor vehicle,” police said. Police said a large amount of cash was also found and that its origin and possible connection to the activities under investigation would be checked. The authorities said they were examining the legal basis on which the foreigners are staying and working in Montenegro, their activities and movements, the purpose and manner of use of the seized equipment and devices, and any possible links to illegal activities. “Given the complexity of the case, the director of the Police Directorate has formed an Operational Team composed of several groups of police officers specialised in cyber security and high-tech crime, financial investigations and money laundering, international operational cooperation, as well as foreigner and migration affairs, with the strong support of the National Security Agency,” the statement said. Police added that they were taking action in coordination with the State Prosecutor’s Office to establish all the facts and could not comment further at this stage.. “Having in mind the interest of the proceedings and the complexity of the criminal investigation, the Police Directorate is not in a position at this moment to provide more details, so as not to jeopardise the further course of the preliminary investigation,” the statement said.