Dubrovnik city councillor Viktorija Knežević, from the Centre party, has expressed concern over the current approach to the fight against organised crime. She stressed that the seriousness of this conflict must not be measured exclusively by the number of arrests, the length of discovered smuggling tunnels, or the number of individuals brought before media cameras. According to her, such a superficial approach creates a false picture of success.
Knežević explained that in high-profile trials for organised crime, the individuals on trial are most often those immediately recognisable to the public as criminals. She pointed out that among the accused, there are no representatives from the police, security services, the judiciary, or politics who have allowed these networks to operate for years without consequence.
The councillor stated that what is being collected are merely "pawns" to give the public the impression that the state is taking action. She highlighted that large criminal networks can operate for years, laundering millions of euros, establishing companies, purchasing real estate, obtaining building permits, and expanding their businesses, all while no one in the system notices.
According to her, the system operates such that someone reports suspicious activity, someone else turns a blind eye, someone fails to verify the facts, and someone else shoves the case into a drawer. Knežević concluded that the true strength of organised crime lies in the connections criminal groups manage to establish with legal business entities.
